The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece, Saamana, in a new editorial, drew a parallel between the Opposition and the ruling BJP and the Wagner group’s rebellion against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) claimed the “Wagner group” (Opposition) in India will dislodge the Narendra Modi government through the ballot box by using the path of non-violence, PTI reported.

The Saamana editorial called the Wagner group “the defender of democracy” while comparing it to the opposition parties in India. It said just as the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin rebelled against Putin, the Opposition came together in Patna to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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In a dramatic development last week, Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin called for an armed rebellion and claimed his forces had military facilities in Russia’s southern city of Rostov-on-Don under their control. It also started its march to Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the rebellion a betrayal and an act of treason. Later, Prigozhin said he has ordered his mercenaries to halt their march on Moscow and retreat to their field camps in Ukraine to avoid shedding Russian blood, following negotiations carried out by the Belarusian president, PTI reported.

The Shiv Sena mouthpiece, Saamana, read, “Modi-Shah have prepared a large number of mercenaries to drum up victory, to pressurize the voters.” It then said a direct example of this was currently visible in Russia. “Like Putin, Modi-Shah are also trying to bring dictatorship, total authoritarianism,” it said.

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Speaking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit, the editorial said that Modi had made a mockery of himself by speaking in “improper English”.

“It was clearly visible that the ground slipped from under the feet of Prime Minister Modi due to the questions asked in the press conference on India’s democracy, Constitution, and attack on minorities,” it said.

In the editorial, the Wagner group comparison was also drawn to describe the situation in Maharashtra, referring to the alliance between the BJP and the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction).