The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday responded to Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray's comments about Union Minister Amit Shah, in which he had called him "Mogambo", a character from the 1980s Bollywood blockbuster film 'Mr India'. The BJP hit back on Monday by focusing on the lead character's special power of disappearing.
The Election Commission (EC) on February 17 recognized the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the real Shiv Sena, and allotted it the 'bow and arrow' symbol, prompting Shah to claim that Thackeray would now know which side the truth was on. In response, Thackeray had sarcastically said 'Mogambo khush hua' on Sunday, a line that the film's villain often repeats when a plan succeeds.
BJP MLA from Mumbai Atul Bhatkhalkar criticized Thackeray's comments, stating that the Shiv Sena leader is rushing to label the BJP leadership as Mogambo, but with such remarks, he is making himself disappear from Maharashtra politics.
When asked about the use of such metaphors in politics, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar said that one should happily accept them.
Uddhav Thackeray on Monday also warned that the 2024 Lok Sabha could be the last in the country as anarchists will take over the government. "If this [the current scenario in Maharashtra] is not stopped, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections may turn out to be the last elections in the country as after that anarchy will start here," Thackeray said.
Earlier in the day, Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud for an early listing of the Thackeray-led Sena faction's petition.
The CJI, however, refused to pass any order, PTI reported.
According to ANI, Uddhav Thackeray in the plea stated that the ECI has failed to consider that they enjoy a majority in the Legislative Council and Rajya Sabha. He submitted that the legislative majority alone, in this case, could not be the basis for passing the order by ECI.