[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief shows caricatures of the Mahatma and PM Modi standing side by side holding their respective ‘autobiographies’

While Narendra Modi may be attempting to appropriate issues close to the heart of the late Mahatma Gandhi, through the Swachh Bharat mission, here’s a comparison with the Father of the Nation that the Prime Minister may have wanted to avoid.

In a caricature drawn out to mark Gandhi Jayanti, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has depicted Bapu and Modi standing side by side holding their respective ‘autobiographies’. While the Mahatma’s autobiography, ‘My Experiments with Truth’, is a well known literary property, Thackeray, who has in recent months been critical of Modi’s failure in delivering on his poll promises, has in his caricature attributed an account of the Prime Minister’s life, calling it ‘My Experiments with Lies’.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cuZmFjZWJvb2suY29tJTJGcGx1Z2lucyUyRnBvc3QucGhwJTNGaHJlZiUzRGh0dHBzJTI1M0ElMjUyRiUyNTJGd3d3LmZhY2Vib29rLmNvbSUyNTJGUmFqVGhhY2tlcmF5JTI1MkZwb3N0cyUyNTJGMjQwNDUwNzEzMTUyNzUyJTI2d2lkdGglM0Q1MDAlMjIlMjB3aWR0aCUzRCUyMjUwMCUyMiUyMGhlaWdodCUzRCUyMjM2MSUyMiUyMHN0eWxlJTNEJTIyYm9yZGVyJTNBbm9uZSUzQm92ZXJmbG93JTNBaGlkZGVuJTIyJTIwc2Nyb2xsaW5nJTNEJTIybm8lMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMjAlMjIlMjBhbGxvd1RyYW5zcGFyZW5jeSUzRCUyMnRydWUlMjIlM0UlM0MlMkZpZnJhbWUlM0U=[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]The caricature has been titled ‘Two of the same soil’, drawing on the fact that both Mahatma Gandhi and Narendra Modi are Gujaratis.

The damning caricature comes close on the heels of Thackeray’s outbursts against Modi and his central government in wake of the stampede at Mumbai’s Elphinstone suburban railway station last week that left 23 people dead. Thackeray had reiterated his reservations against Modi’s pet project – the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train – after the Elphinstone tragedy and raised question on why the Centre was planning to spend Rs 1.10 lakh crore on the venture while existing rail infrastructure was still inadequate. “While people are struggling to survive in the cities, Modi is asking them to do yoga and campaign for Swachh Bharat,” the MNS chief has said further.

Thackeray, who shares his passion and capability for satirical cartoons with his uncle, the late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, has been persistent with his attacks against Modi over the past year now. Recently, when he launched his official Facebook account, Thackeray had claimed that underworld don Dawood Ibrahim – wanted by Indian authorities for masterminding various terror attacks including the 1993 Mumbai blasts and believed to be living in Pakistan – was negotiating terms of his ‘surrender and extradition’ with the Modi government.

The startling allegation was followed by the MNS chief posting a caricature of Modi being dragged into India by Dawood.[/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html]JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cuZmFjZWJvb2suY29tJTJGcGx1Z2lucyUyRnBvc3QucGhwJTNGaHJlZiUzRGh0dHBzJTI1M0ElMjUyRiUyNTJGd3d3LmZhY2Vib29rLmNvbSUyNTJGUmFqVGhhY2tlcmF5JTI1MkZwb3N0cyUyNTJGMjM2MDAxNzQwMjY0MzE2JTI2d2lkdGglM0Q1MDAlMjIlMjB3aWR0aCUzRCUyMjUwMCUyMiUyMGhlaWdodCUzRCUyMjU5NyUyMiUyMHN0eWxlJTNEJTIyYm9yZGVyJTNBbm9uZSUzQm92ZXJmbG93JTNBaGlkZGVuJTIyJTIwc2Nyb2xsaW5nJTNEJTIybm8lMjIlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyMjAlMjIlMjBhbGxvd1RyYW5zcGFyZW5jeSUzRCUyMnRydWUlMjIlM0UlM0MlMkZpZnJhbWUlM0U=[/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text]Thackeray’s diatribe against Modi comes at a time when his cousin and political rival, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, too has launched a broadside against the BJP. Despite being the oldest political ally of the BJP, the Shiv Sena has been constantly criticising the Modi government and its policies and on Saturday, while addressing the Shiv Sena’s annual Dussehra rally in Mumbai, Uddhav had advised the senior alliance partner not to teach patriotism to his party.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]