Shiv Sena poster takes dig at PM Narendra Modi, BJP

Amidst tension in the ties between the ruling alliance partners, Shiv Sena has come up with a poster showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi bowing before the late Bal Thackeray.

The poster, which was put up at Sena Bhawan in Dadar by the party's East Mumbai unit, shows Modi bowing reverentially before Thackeray. The lines accompanying the photo say: "(Have you) forgotten the days when your (now) proud necks bowed on the feet of late Balasaheb?"

Meanwhile, BMC sources said the poster has now been removed.

Sena has had blow hot and cold ties with BJP from the time the two parties went through a bitter separation before the Maharashtra Assembly polls and then formed an uneasy alliance after the results were declared. The alliance partners have clashed on a slew of issues, ranging from a nuclear plant in Jaitapur to the distribution of portfolios.

Sena forcing the cancellation of Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali's concerts in Pune and Mumbai, and the recent paint attack on Sudheendra Kulkarni, a former BJP member, has been seen as further widening the chasm between the Hindutva allies.

Meanwhile, a close aide of Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said the poster is not one that has 'official' endorsement of the party. "Maybe some angry (Sena) worker put it up," the aide said.