Rooting for “Modi Mukt Bharat”, MNS chief Raj Thackeray said here on Tuesday all the Opposition should come together to show the door to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and exhorted the voters not to fall into the “trap” of "Main Bhi Chowkidar”  campaign which has been launched by the BJP to divert the attention from the “failures” of the Modi Government.

Addressing his party workers two days after his party announced that it would not contest the Lok Sabha polls, Raj said, “I have all along told the Opposition parties that I have no interest in contesting the Lok Sabha but whatever I do will be beneficial to you. This election is: Modi-Amit Shah vs the entire country. Like I had earlier in my Gudi Padva rally, the country should be become ‘Modi Mukt Bharat’ and for the purpose, all the parties should come together".

Reiterating that his party would not field candidates in the Lok Sabha polls, Raj told his partyworkers: “But whatever the election rallies I will hold will be against Modi and Amit Shah. Even whatever you say or do anything, it should be against Modi-Amit Shah and the BJP”. 

Ridiculing the ruling BJP for launching the "Main Bhi Chowkidar” campaign ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the MNS chief said: “What is "Main Bhi Chowkidar”? Are we witnessing elections in India or Nepal?. How can a Prime Minister have such a tiny mindset?. The Prime Minister should have a larger vision for the country instead of going around and calling himself as a chowkidar”.      

Advising his party workers not fall into the “trap” of "Main Bhi Chowkidar” campaign, Raj said: “I am telling all of you not to get involved in the whole thing. This campaign is a farce and a trap. The BJP has launched this campaign to divert the attention of the people from the destruction that Modi has wreaked in the country during the last five years. The BJP wants you to get trapped in this campaign. But, I am advising you and all others not to get carried away by this campaign”.

“I am appealing to the traditional voters of the MNS that the country is currently passing through a critical period. It is important that we should get over this phase. The BJP workers will come to you with money bags.  You may take the money from these people. After all they looted the country for the last five years. It is time for us to loot them. Mind you, this is not my directive to you,” the MNS chief said.

“This election is not about any political party. Even the people in the BJP are fed up with the happenings within the party. The moment these two persons (Modi and Shah) are removed from the political horizon of the country, then the contest will be among various political parties. As of today, the contest is not among political parties.  The issue before the people is not to vote for Modi-Amit Shah duo and in effect not to vote for the BJP,”  Raj said.

Slamming the ruling BJP for whipping nationalist fervour among the people using the Pulwama terror strike and subsequent air strikes on terror camps in Pakistan, Raj said: “Here’s government that asked Rs 3 lakh crore from the RBI and received Rs 28,000 crore. Then RBI Governor Urjit opposed the Government’s demand and resigned  from the post The Government tried to create a bogie of war with Pakistan. You need money for the waging a war”.

“The Government does not have money and it is begging the RBI for assistance. Where would it have mobilised money... No wonder the atmosphere of war is no longer there and no one is now speaking about either Pulwama attack or the subsequent  air strikes. Modi realised that the BJP will not get votes by whipping nationalistic fervour. That’s the BJP stopped campaigning on these issues,”  the MNS chief said.

Raj, who devoted his entire speech to castigate the Modi government and the BJP,  said that he would speak at length at his Gudi Padva rally.

It may be recalled that on March 10,the MNS chief had accused  the Narendra Modi government of ignoring the intelligence information inputs received ahead of the Pulwama terror attack and apprehended that one more Pulwama-like attack would be “engineered” in the middle of Lok Sabha polls and the ruling BJP would try to exploit the incident by whipping up patriotic sentiments.

Addressing party workers at  Rangsharada auditorium on the occasion of 13th anniversary of his party, Raj said: “I have a strong hunch that in the next month or two—right in the middle of Lok Sabha elections, one more Pulwama-like attack will be engineered... I repeat the attack will be engineered. Once again, the attention of the people will be diverted and we will once again to get see speeches on patriotism”.

Attributing the need to create a war-like situation in the country to the Modi government’s “failure” to deliver on its various promises, Raj charged that the BJP was trying to “divert” the attention of the people from its failure on various fronts. “The BJP has realised now that it has failed to deliver on all its promises—be it “Make in India”, “Start up India”, or “2 crore employment a year promise” etc ..... The BJP could not use the Dawood deportation issue and Ram Mandir issue.....”