Stung by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ calling his outfit a party of “extortionists”, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said he will not like to react to it. He, however, chose to taunt the BJP over its yet unfulfilled promise of building a Ram temple at Ayodhya.

Addressing a BJP rally at Mumbai last night, an aggressive Fadnavis had equated the Sena to a “party of extortionists” and described the outfit’s dominance over Mumbai for the past two decades as a “huge loss” to the megapolis. “I do not want to give any reaction to his (Fadnavis’) speech on Monday night,” Thackeray told reporters here, after Congress corporator and former leader of opposition in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Devendra Amberkar joined the Sena in his presence, ahead of the February 21 BMC polls.

“He (Fadnavis) had earlier said that no one becomes the prime minister simply by giving a speech from Red Fort. Similarly, nobody becomes Lord Krishna just because one thinks (of himself) so,” he said.

Thackeray did not name BJP Mumbai chief Ashish Shelar, who at yesterday’s rally, had drawn the Mahabharata analogy while referring to Sena-BJP ties and termed Fadnavis as Lord Krishna and expected that Krishna will address to fight against the ‘Kauravas’ (Sena).

“I will not speak more (on what Fadnavis said) because I will also suffer from a sore throat,” he said, in a veiled reference to Fadnavis drinking water twice during his speech last night due to a sore throat.

“I will not speak on what he (Fadnavis) has said. People of Mumbai will respond to it,” Thackeray said.

“His (Fadnavis’) earlier image has been maligned. Now, one fears if the image will become that of a ‘CM of goons’,” he added.

Taunting the BJP for “failing” to honour its poll promise of building a Ram temple at Ayodhya, Thackeray said, “They (BJP) must be looking for the bricks they had collected earlier.”

“If they find those bricks, may be they will build the temple. Mandir banayenge, par kab banayenge (You will build the temple, but when),” the Sena chief said.

“Now, the masks have fallen. Their (BJP leaders’) real faces have come before the people,” he said.

Thackeray’s remarks came a day after BJP president Amit Shah, while releasing the party’s manifesto for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, said it will try to build the Ram temple in Ayodhya as per Constitutional norms.

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