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‘Rambo’ act: After hitting out at Modi, Uddhav backtracks
Vibha Sharma/TNS

‘Problem with propaganda machinery’ For the past two days, Modi’s “rescue” of 15,000 Gujaratis from flood-hit Uttarakhand has been under visible attack from the BJP’s oldest ally, Shiv Sena Making a U-turn on Tuesday, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray downplayed the issue and explained that his intention was not to criticise Modi, but his propaganda machinery Uddhav’s problem with Modi can be traced to the Gujarat strongman’s closeness with his estranged cousin and MNS chief Raj Thackeray Modi has done good work. Modi is not our enemy. He is a national leader and we don't oppose him. — Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena chief

New Delhi, June 25
The BJP appears to have successfully managed to bring around the Shiv Sena, one of its two remaining allies after the JD(U) left the NDA recently. The Sena had been indulging in some perceptible posturing after the appointment of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the poll panel chief.

For the past two days, Modi’s “rescue” of 15,000 Gujaratis from flood-hit Uttarakhand (the “Rambo act” as the Congress gleefully christened it) came under visible attack from the BJP’s oldest ally via its mouthpiece, ‘Saamna’. However, making a spectacular U-turn this afternoon, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray downplayed the issue and explained that his intention was not to criticise Modi, but his propaganda machinery.

“The criticism was not of Modi, but of those managing his propaganda. The opposition is not to Modi, but the way in which his work was publicised,” Uddhav was quoted as saying. He also criticised the Congress for calling the Gujarat strongman a liar. “The Congress is calling him a liar. This is not right. Our criticism was constructive,” he said.

“Modi has done good work. What wrong has he done? Modi is not our enemy. He is a national leader and we don't oppose him,” he insisted, recalling how his father Bal Thackeray had stood behind the Gujarat CM when allies were gunning for him.

BJP sources say more than Modi per se, Uddhav’s problem was because of the Gujarat strongman’s closeness with his estranged cousin and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray. Raj, too, has been praising Modi often, something which is not liked by Uddhav, who, in one of his earlier editorials, took jibes at his cousin for showering praise on the Gujarat CM.

“Raj’s closeness to Modi is his main problem. He fears that the BJP’s seat sharing arrangement with the Shiv Sena will be affected. In any case, Bal Thackeray’s preference for senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj as PM candidate is well known,” a source said.

Claiming to have rescued 15,000 marooned Gujaratis in one day, the criticism the BJP’s poster boy Modi received from Congress managers was only natural, but the open disapproval from their oldest ally was surprising. Political analysts believe the Sena does not have many options apart from the BJP, so its praise for “large-hearted” Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan came as another eye-opener.