The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has launched a scathing attack on Home Minister Amit Shah through their mouthpiece, Saamana, following the Pulwama terror attack where perpetrators remain at large. Saamana’s editorial sharply criticized Shah’s recent statement claiming that if Balasaheb Thackeray were alive, he would have embraced PM Modi for “Operation Sindoor” success. Countering this, Saamana asserted that Balasaheb would have, in fact, demanded Shah’s resignation over the Pulwama attack, accusing him of failing to protect 26 Hindu women whose “sindoor” (vermilion) was wiped away by terrorists. The editorial suggested Balasaheb would have given Shah a “tough lesson to remember for life” and directly rebuked PM Modi for the home department’s “inactivity and negligence.”

Saamana labeled Amit Shah as the “weakest Home Minister to date,” alleging that national security and law and order have deteriorated under his tenure. It further claimed Shah, who previously acted as Modi’s “subordinate” in Gujarat, was merely replicating that role at the national level. The editorial ridiculed Shah’s “swagger” and “fiery speeches,” stating they proved hollow after the Pulwama incident. It questioned the whereabouts of the terrorists, asking if they vanished into thin air, went to Pakistan, or even “joined the BJP.” Saamana also condemned Shah for invoking Balasaheb’s name in Maharashtra while failing to provide answers on the terror attack. The article concluded by mocking the BJP’s anti-corruption stance, suggesting that just as “corrupt” Congress and NCP leaders are now “purified” by joining the BJP, perhaps the Pulwama terrorists have also found sanctity within the party.