Shiv Sena equates Jain monk with Zakir Naik, BJP furious

The Shiv Sena went all out in its attack against Jain monk Naypadmasagar Maharajsaheb for calling on the community to vote for the BJP in the Mira-Bhayander civic polls, and likened him to controversial tele-evangelist Zakir Naik.

The Sena also criticised the leader for aggressively promoting vegetarianism.

"Do not defame the state and create fissures in society. Otherwise, selfish and fundamentalist people like you will have to quit the country like Zakir Naik did," warned Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and Sanjay Raut, executive editor of Saamana, the Sena mouthpiece.

The Sena warned the state of retribution if it failed to take action.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC), part of Mumbai's extended suburbs. It trounced the Sena to emerge as the single-largest party.

Raut attributed the victory to "muni (priest) and money" but added that the Sena was taking a position against "an individual and not a community." The party will file a petition with the election commission against this.

All India Jain Minorities Federation national President Lalit Gandhi condemned Raut and sought an apology. National General Secretary Sandeep Bhandari said that political parties took up the issue of slaughter houses during Paryushan Parv, 2016 and the Jain community was annoyed then. He added that Jains were peace-loving and had never aligned themselves with any political force.

President of Mumbai's BJP unit Ashish Shelar said that Raut and the Sena should introspect on the defeat and not threaten religious leaders. He said that the Sena's statements were a result of "depression" from the loss.