The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena on Tuesday said dynastic rule would seem preferable to the present "autocracy" in the country, as it praised Rahul Gandhi's `Bharat Jodo Yatra'. The BJP should respond to the questions raised by Gandhi instead of targeting him over his clothes, said the editorial in the Sena mouthpiece `Saamana'.
The questions being raised by Gandhi during his ongoing campaign carry substance and they have shut the BJP's mouth, it said. The Congress leader's Yatra is getting good response from people and he is raising issues related to unemployment, farmers, labourers and small and medium sized businesses, the Marathi newspaper said.
"Instead of providing answers to the questions posed by him, the BJP is resorting to frivolous attacks by raising issues like what clothes he wears and what he eats," the editorial added, referring to the BJP's swipes at the price of a T-shirt worn by Rahul Gandhi. The Yatra is creating awareness among people and this is giving "stomach ache" to the BJP, it said.
"Autocracy and dictatorship are wreaking such a havoc in the country that a dynastic rule would seem preferable," said the Sena mouthpiece, once a trenchant critic of the Congress and its top leadership. Rahul Gandhi's Yatra will "repair the atmosphere of hatred" prevailing in the country, it added.
Notably, like the Congress and the Gandhi family, the Thackerays too have faced criticism for promoting family rule in the Sena. The Sena and Congress were partners, along with the NCP, in the previous Maharashtra government headed by Uddhav Thackeray.
(With PTI inputs)
