Mumbai, (The Hindu): Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of standing with rapists in Jammu and Kashmir.

“[The BJP] could not do anything of worth in the last four years to show voters, and now they only want to instigate riots to win elections. These BJP leaders created Hindu Ekta Manch in Jammu which held a rally shouting slogans of Bharat Mata ki jai, waving the tricolour in favour of rapists. How can you even think of doing so? That eight-year-old did not even know anything about religion,” said Mr. Thackeray, referring to the Kathua rape case.

“What has happened to the nation? How can rape be seen through the prism of religion? She was kept inside the temple for eight days, sedated and gangraped. How can the ruling party stand with the rapists? I wonder where were our gods then?” he asked, adding that punishments similar to those in Saudi Arabia should be imposed in such case as people have no fear of the law.

“Smriti Irani was sending bangles to the then Prime Minister when the Nirbhaya case happened. What has happened now? Has she stopped wearing bangles now?” he asked.

On Maharashtra

Mr. Thackeray announced that he will embark on a tour of the State from May 1, and the first rally will be held in Palghar. “We will not let the oil refinery project come up in Konkan. The Chief Minister has warned that the project will be shifted to Gujarat. They can take it wherever they want, but the project will not happen in Konkan,” said Mr. Thackeray. He alleged that the land around the project site has been purchased by brokers working for leaders of various political parties.

The MNS chief asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi had fulfilled his promise of creating two crore jobs for the youth. Recalling the party’s agitation for jobs in the Railways in 2008, Mr. Thackeray said, “We are giving employment to the youth of Maharashtra without having any power and that too without lying like the present government.”

He said the BJP has stopped making fun of Congress president Rahul Gandhi by calling him ‘Pappu’ since the Gujarat polls.

Earlier, Mr. Thackeray handed over keys to new autorickshaws to 100 women drivers trained by the MNS.