Uddhav-led Sena boycotts Kharge's Oppn MPs meet over Rahul Gandhi's Savarkar remark

In a bid to blunt BJP’s attack and to send a message to its cadre that it has not diluted its stand, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on Monday did not attend a dinner meeting called by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to discuss Parliament floor strategy in protest against Rahul Gandhi’s anti-Savarkar remarks.

Sena leaders said it would not be prudent for them not to send a message on this plank, though it is unlikely to rock the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra, as its primary battle is against the “attack on democracy”. It, however, wants Rahul also to not get distracted on such issues.

While Sena (Thackeray) MPs attended the meeting called by Kharge in the morning as well as the joint Opposition protest during the day, sources said the leadership decided to send a message that it was not piping down on Savarkar issue by not attending the dinner meeting.

Read | Maharashtra Assembly: BJP, Shiv Sena members target Rahul Gandhi over Savarkar remarks

For Sena (Thackeray), the BJP and Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde were breathing down their neck and taunting them whether it had changed its stand on Savarkar. Also, the leadership has acknowledged the resentment among the cadre for not countering Rahul’s attack on Savarkar.

The latest one from Rahul was on Saturday when he said he was a Gandhi and not Savarkar to apologise for his remarks. During his Bharat Jodo Yatra too, Rahul had attacked Savarkar, the Hindutva ideologue.

Through an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana', Sena (Thackeray) also advised Rahul that his attack on Savarkar would lead to ebbing of sympathy he has gained due to his disqualification as Lok Sabha MP. The truth, which Gandhi is fighting for today, will not win by making defamatory statements against Savarkar, it said.

On Sunday, Uddhav Thackeray said he considers Savarkar as his "idol" while asking Rahul to refrain from "insulting" him while emphasising that the MVA was formed to protect democracy and it was necessary to work unitedly for it.

Sources said Thackeray's remarks and the editorial indicated that the party would not precipitate a crisis in the alliance.