Raj Thackeray hits out at BJP over Gokul board nominations, says it must learn to accept defeat

Raj Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the BJP in a social media post. He criticised the government over the Gokul issue and said those in power are themselves holding marches to save democracy.

In the post, Thackeray wrote that the Bharatiya Janata Party is a strange party. It is in power from the bottom to the top, yet it is holding marches in the name of saving democracy. This would perhaps be the only example in the world of a ruling party holding a march against opposition parties, he said.

He asked why, if there is such a desire to respect democracy, the government, that is the BJP, appointed five directors of its own at Gokul immediately after 13 members of the Satej Patil panel won against 12 of the BJP panel. What is being proved by giving them the right to vote, he asked. They won by contesting through ballot voting and the democratic route, he said.

He said that had the BJP cared about democracy, it would not have done this. When it did not get power at Gokul, it immediately set aside all its principles and began holding marches in the name of saving democracy. Maharashtra is facing a severe water drought, and the BJP is suffering a severe drought of sense as well, he said, adding that he wondered how both could happen together.

According to Thackeray, while in power these people will hold marches to save democracy and also strangle democracy themselves. He said that if terror attacks occurred and law and order deteriorated under their rule, they would also hold marches in the name of saving the country from terrorism. If the economy has fallen into a pit, there will be marches to save the economy too, he said.

Finally, he said the BJP should stop its crying and whining. Whatever route the BJP took to win a majority, all opposition parties tolerated it for 12 years. Now that the public is beginning to lean towards the opposition parties, the BJP too should learn to tolerate it, Thackeray said in his post.