Sena dubs PM assassination plots as thrilling story

The Shiv Sena had a sarcastic dig at the ruling BJP on Monday, as it dubbed the “assassination plots” against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as a “thrilling horror story” and expressed surprise that such conspiracies always surfaced ahead of elections.

A day after NCP chief Sharad Pawar accused BJP of using the purported letter recovered by the police that carried an alleged plot by the Maoists to assassinate Modi to “garner sympathy”, the Sena charged that there were quite a few loopholes in the “assassination plot” against the Prime Minister which had lent credence to the Opposition’s criticism of the Government.

“All the persons that the Pune police arrested for their role in the Bhima-Koregaon riots are maxalites with destructive ideology. But, when the riots took place at Bhima-Koregaon, the Maharashtra government hardly did anything.  These were the same people who were conspiring to assassinate Modi and Fadnavis. The entire conspiracy is a thrilling horror story.  There are loopholes in the story. As a result, the Opposition’s criticism of the assassination theory has gained currency,”  the Sena stated.

In an editorial published in its official mouth-piece “Saamana”, the Sena stated: “Normally we get to see suspected terrorists being arrested on the eve of the Independence and Republic days, the authorities claiming to have busted terror conspiracy and tightening the security. That being the case what the terrorists do in the remaining 11 months”.

“We always get to see terror plots being busted ahead of elections. That being the case, the impending elections in Maharashtra and across the country provide an opportunity for saboteurs. Hence, we have reason to be concerned,” the Sena mouth-piece stated.

Taking a pot shot at Modi and Fadnavis, the Sena editorial stated: “The Prime

Minister has the tightest security cover. We have to see if the PM’s security cover can be strengthened further and there is need to consider if Fadnavis is accorded Mossad-like high security. This is because it is okay if lakhs of people are killed, but the guardians of the lakhs of people have to live”.

Through its sarcastic barb at the BJP for the manner in which the Amit Shah-led party is cashing in on the “Modi-Fadnavis” assassination plot, the Shiv Sena has joined the ranks of the Congress and NCP in questioning the authenticity of the “PM death threat” letter recovered by the Pune police from one of the arrested accused in the Bhima-Koregaon riots.

Speaking at a function organised in Pune to mark the 19th anniversary of the NCP, Pawar alleged that the letter with the plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being used to “garner people’s sympathy” and said that the people would not fall prey to the BJP’s attempts to generate sympathy.

“They say there was a threatening letter. I spoke to a retired police officer, who had worked for CID. He said there is no substance in the letter. The letter is being used to garner people’s sympathy,” Pawar said.

“The BJP has realised that it is losing the popular support. In order to gain sympathy, the BJP is now playing the threat letter card. However, I am sure that the people will not fall prey to such tactics,” Pawar said.

Castigating the ruling BJP for its “selective leaks” about threats to life faced by Narendra Modi, Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam had on Friday last   demanded an inquiry into whether “false information” was being fed to the media about assassination threat faced by the Prime Minister. 

Reacting to an incriminating letter recovered by the Pune police about the Maoists’ plans to assassinate Modi, Nirupam had said: “Information is being leaked selectively. I do not know as to how much truth is there in it. We have been witnessing a trend ever since Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat. Whenever his popularity takes a dent, news gets planted in the media that he faces a threat to his life. Today, Modi’s popularity has gone down markedly and the popularity of Congress president Rahul Gandhi has shot up by three folds”.

“An atmosphere has built up in all sections of the society against against the BJP and Modi. That being the case, it needs to be investigated if the BJP — as parts of its strategy —is feeding false information about threats faced by the Prime Minister.. I am not saying that everything is wrong. But we cannot ignore the fact that Modi has in the past spread planted stories about threats faced to his life,” Nirupam had said.