Mumbai: Correspondent
Union Home Minister Amit Shah entered politics as a businessman and continues to treat politics like a business, said Shiv Sena (Thackeray faction) MP Sanjay Raut while speaking to the media. He alleged that Shah has fostered an entire generation of “business-minded” individuals within the Bharatiya Janata Party, having no real connection with social causes.
Raut also strongly criticized Shah’s recent statement in which he referred to BJP’s allies as “crutches.” “If Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar have even a shred of self-respect, they should immediately withdraw from the government,” Raut asserted.
“Today, they call their allies ‘crutches.’ But there was a time when nobody in Maharashtra even knew the BJP. When they didn’t have people to put up their posters, it was Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray who formed an alliance with them and gave them strength. After the demolition of the Babri Masjid, Balasaheb’s influence grew across the country. We were planning to contest the Lok Sabha elections nationwide, but former Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani personally requested Balasaheb not to, as it might split the Hindu nationalist vote and harm the BJP. Balasaheb immediately agreed. Back then, they didn’t remember the word ‘crutches,’” Raut added.
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