In a fierce attack on the BJP, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Friday accused it of raising the nationalism issue to cover its failures in delivering promises it made. Accusing the RSS of aiding the BJP, Raj went on to allege a tacit understanding between the organisation and the Owaisi brothers-led All India Ittehadul Majlis e Muslimee (AIMIM).

“We too are proud of being Indians, but who are you (RSS) to distribute certificates of patriotism? How will you decide it whether one chants Bharat mata ki jai or not? And then there are these two Owaisi brothers who tactfully catch every issue raised by them. They are financed by this organisation (RSS),” he said at his first rally in Shivaji Park since 2009 during a speech that lasted for almost an hour.

The rally was in doubt after an NGO approached the Bombay High Court saying Shivaji Park is a silence zone. The court finally allowed the rally but with stringent restrictions including noise levels not exceeding 50 decibel.

Claiming that only the Owaisis and BJP supporters like Baba Ramdev are spared from police cases despite making controversial statements, the MNS chief said only he is targeted for speaking up against the government. Asking the government on who defines an anti-national, Raj said, “Those who loot the people, allow illegal slums, force farmer suicides, eat the poor’s rations, aren’t they anti-national? Who will answer me on this?”

Taking a dig at Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over his remarks on the Bharat mata ki jai issue, Raj said he should concentrate on making this country a developed nation. “Why is he even saying all this instead of working?” he asked, adding the CM has no standing of his own and no control over his administration. “He may be good, but what’s the use if he is not working and has no position on any issue,” he said.

Referring to the controversy at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) where pro-Afzal Guru slogans were allegedly chanted, Raj criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP for its alliance with the Mehbooba Mufti-PDP in Jammu and Kashmir. “Wasn’t it the same PDP that came out in support of Afzal Guru and opposed his death sentence? If you are so agitated by the JNU incidents, then how can you even ally with the PDP? Why this drama of patriotism?” he asked.

MNS chief asks CM Fadnavis to concentrate on developing state, not nationalism