Uddhav Thackeray says BJP has no need for RSS, will 'ban' it

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) president and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Saturday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has no more use of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and it "will ban the RSS" soon.

Speaking here at a joint INDIA-MVA media conference, in which Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar and other senior leaders were also present, while criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the former Maharashtra CM referred to an interview by BJP President J.P. Nadda in which he has made certain references to the RSS that has become a hot political topic of debate.

"As far as J.P. Nadda is concerned, he feels that the BJP does not need the RSS anymore now. Currently, in its centenary year, even the RSS could be at risk. PM Modi called my party a 'nakli Sena' and said I am a 'nakli santaan'... tomorrow, they will also label RSS as 'nakli' and ban it," said Thackeray.

He took strong umbrage and pointed out how PM Modi has consistently referred to his party Shiv Sena (UBT) as a 'fake Sena' -- and the NCP (SP), too -- in many of his election rallies across the state during the past couple of months.

"Let the election results come out on June 4. Then they will realise which is the real Sena and which is the fake one. Balasaheb Thackeray always stood firmly behind Modi in all his times of crises. Now, the same Modi calls his (Balasaheb's) party as 'nakli'," said Thackeray.

In the media interview, J.P. Nadda reportedly said that in the beginning, when the BJP was smaller and less capable, it needed the help of the RSS but now the party has grown in strength so it can run and manage itself independently.