In the backdrop of the assault on Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi in Maharashtra assembly by MNS members, a senior BJP leader on Wednesday in New Delhi said his party had condemned such attacks in the past and alleged that most such incidents related to Raj Thackeray's party were stage-managed. During an interaction here, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said his party had always condemned Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's brand of politics and its actions. MNS had first come into the limelight after its members attacked taxi-drivers and low-end workers from North India who were working in Maharashtra. Javadekar alleged these were "stage-managed under police (patronage)".
"Yes, a few incidents did take place ... But on the whole Mumbai was quiet. What it did had a psychological impact which helped the Congress-NCP combine in the elections," he said. BJP fared badly in the recent assembly elections in Maharashtra and the Congress-NCP alliance won the polls. Commenting on the just-concluded Lok Sabha by-polls in Firozabad constituency of Uttar Pradesh where Samajwadi Party's candidate Dimple Yadav lost to Congress candidate Raj Babbar, Javadekar said, "Firstly, it was the anti-Yadav wave which resulted in the defeat. And the traditional Muslim voters also deserted the party (SP)." PTI
