Raj Thackeray questions BJP over government-appointed directors on Gokul board

The power struggle at the Gokul milk union in Maharashtra has heated up the political climate. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray has now entered the dispute. In a post shared on social media, he sharply criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Questioning the BJP's stand on democracy, Thackeray pointed to the double standards of the ruling party. In his post he called the BJP a "strange party".

According to Thackeray, the BJP is in power from the bottom to the top, yet it is holding marches in the name of "save democracy". He remarked that a ruling party holding a march against the opposition would be the only such example in the world.

Referring to the Gokul election, Thackeray put a direct question to the BJP. According to his post, 12 members of the BJP panel and 13 of the Satej Patil panel were elected. He asked why five directors of the government, that is of the BJP itself, were appointed immediately afterwards, and what the party was trying to prove by giving them voting rights. He noted that the elected directors had contested by ballot and by the democratic route.

Thackeray says that had the BJP truly cared about democracy, it would not have done such a thing. He alleged that because it could not win power at Gokul, the BJP sets aside all its principles and then holds marches in the name of saving democracy.

He also said he was astonished that Maharashtra is facing a severe drought of water and the BJP a severe drought of understanding at the same time.

Thackeray went on to give his view of the BJP's likely conduct. According to him, while in power these people will hold marches to "save democracy" and will themselves strangle democracy. He said terror attacks took place and law and order deteriorated during their tenure, so they will hold marches to "save the country from terrorism". He also remarked that, as the country's economy has sunk into the mire, marches will be held to "save the economy" too.

Finally, Thackeray advised the BJP to stop playing the sore loser. He said the opposition parties tolerated for 12 years whatever majority the BJP gained by whatever means. Now that the people of the country have begun to lean towards the opposition, Thackeray said in his post, the BJP too must learn to tolerate it.