Mandir forgotten, BJP appeasing minorities: Sena

In a veiled attack on ally BJP and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, the Shiv Sena on Wednesday said issues like Ram temple at Ayodhya and uniform civil code are being ignored for the sake of gaining power. 

In an apparent barb at Modi, the Sena said, "Special efforts are being made to bring in burqa-clad women faces to (Modi's) public rallies. Everyone is in a hurry to appease minorities."

"Rather than opposing the Congress, all are getting in the race of appeasing minorities," an editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana said in Mumbai.

Targeting BJP's politics, the newspaper said, "People forgot the Ram temple issue in a bid to seek power."

The Sena comments have surfaced even as BJP is trying to reach out to Muslims ahead of the Assembly and General elections, in a bid to seek acceptability for Modi, who has been under fire over the 2002 riots.

The editorial also claimed that appeasement of minorities will be detrimental to country's interests in the long run.

"We had seen earlier that to get power, Ram temple issue was sidelined, issues like common civil code were kept aside," the Sena said.