Sena (UBT) Slams Annamalai Over ‘Anti-Maharashtra’ Remarks
Party questions silence of Maharashtra BJP as BMC poll campaign turns heated
- Annamalai’s Mumbai remarks trigger sharp backlash
- Uddhav and Raj Thackeray unite to attack BJP leader
- Sena (UBT) mouthpiece Saamana calls him “traitor to Tamils too”
- Party questions Maharashtra BJP’s silence
GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 13th Jan: The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) has intensified its attack on BJP leader K Annamalai over his remarks on Mumbai, questioning why Maharashtra BJP leaders have not condemned what the party described as “anti-Maharashtra” statements.
Annamalai, former IPS officer and ex-chief of the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit, was in Mumbai last week to campaign for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. Addressing a gathering, he said Mumbai required a “triple-engine government” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Centre, Devendra Fadnavis in the state and a BJP mayor in the BMC. He also remarked that Mumbai was “not a Maharashtra city but an international city,” citing its large civic budget in comparison to Chennai and Bengaluru.
The comments drew sharp reactions from the reunited Thackeray cousins. Uddhav Thackeray said Annamalai had exposed the BJP’s “hidden agenda”, while Raj Thackeray derided him as “Rasmalai” and questioned his authority to speak on Mumbai’s affairs.
Responding to the criticism, Annamalai defended his remarks and challenged his detractors. “I am proud to be a farmer’s son. If I were afraid of such threats, I would have stayed in my village,” he said, asserting that calling Mumbai a world-class city did not undermine Maharashtrians’ contribution to its growth.
Now, Sena (UBT)’s mouthpiece Saamana has escalated the political attack with a strongly worded editorial, branding Annamalai “a traitor to Tamils too.” The editorial recalled that Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu had historically stood together against Hindi imposition and accused Annamalai of betraying that shared legacy.
Targeting BJP leaders in Maharashtra, the editorial questioned their silence. “If BJP cannot condemn the statements of Annamalai and Kripashankar Singh, why shouldn’t they be called impotent?” it said. Kripashankar Singh had earlier stirred controversy by claiming Mumbai’s next mayor would be a Hindi speaker.
The editorial added that several Marathi BJP leaders were present when what it termed “anti-Maharashtra” remarks were made but failed to react, calling it a sign of political weakness. The war of words is expected to further sharpen as the high-stakes BMC election approaches.
