'Wagner Group' will dislodge PM Modi, says Uddhav's Sena days after mega opposition meet in Patna

Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena on Monday claimed the "Wagner Group" in India, a reference to opposition parties, will dislodge the Modi government through the ballot box by using the path of non-violence.

Wagner Group is a private military organisation, which fights for Russia. However, recently, Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin turned against Moscow saying the Russian army was targeting his own forces and was depriving them of ammunitions. He also claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was tricked by some into going to war in Ukraine and that there was no threat to Moscow from Kyiv.

Putin called the rebellion a betrayal and an act of treason and said the traitors would be punished. Later, Prigozhin halted their march to Moscow and retreat to their field camps in Ukraine to avoid shedding Russian blood.

An editorial in the Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' drew a parallel between Wagner's revolt against Putin and the meeting of opposition parties in Patna on June 23, when leaders of a dozen of parties sat together to work out a possible alliance for the Lok Sabha polls in 2024. 

The editorial said the "Wagner Group" has shown dictatorship can be challenged. "Be it Modi or Putin, they have to face rebellion. The government in India will be dislodged by a non-violent Wagner and that route will be through the ballot box," it claimed.

Like Putin, Modi has to go, but in a democratic manner, the editorial said. "The Wagner group came together in Patna as a protector of democracy," the Marathi daily said, referring to the meeting of the opposition parties in Bihar. The editorial said Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will not decide the results in 2024, but people will.

The editorial also warned that if there is an EVM "scam", then there will be a Manipur-like situation in the country, such is the anger among people against the government. Manipur has been witnessing ethnic violence since May 3, and so far nearly 120 people have lost their lives and more than 3,000 injured.

The Saamna editorial also claimed the BJP has kept many people, like Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's group, as its "protector", and tomorrow the same people will "stab" them.  

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut also used the Wager Group comparison to describe the situation in Maharashtra. He said that CM Shinde and his ministers were similar to the "rented army" in Russia. "They will also strike back on you (BJP) soon. They belong to no one," he said.

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