Ahead of the crucial elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and other civic bodies in the State, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday slammed the BJP over its approach to Hindutva.
Addressing his first public rally since becoming the Chief Minister in 2019, Mr. Thackeray questioned the BJP over the killing of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley. “Inconsequential leaders in Maharashtra are being given Z-plus security while those Pandits are being denied protection. Is this your Hindutva?” he said.
The Shiv Sena chief reiterated that despite having formed the government with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra, he remains Hindutvawadi to the core and proud of the fact that his party workers demolished the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya.
“Our Hindutva is gada (mace) dhari and not gadha (donkey) dhari. The gadha with us was thrown out around 2.5 years ago,” he said, alluding to the fallout with its former ally the BJP.
Reminding the BJP that poor and hungry citizens brought down power structures in Sri Lanka, he appealed to the party to concentrate on giving food to people instead of instigating them. He also appealed to his party workers to maintain calm and not to lose patience in the face of provocation from the Opposition.
‘Show restraint’
The Sena ensured that the rally was a big success by publicising it with the theme: ‘Hrudyat Ram, Hatala Kam’ (Ram in heart, job in hand). The party made sure there was huge attendance at the rally and projected it as a show of strength in Mumbai.
“I once again appeal to all political parties to not instigate people. Our Hindutva is of ‘Ram in heart and job in hand’. Our Hindutva is not to burn houses, but to light stoves in houses. I appeal to all of you [Sena workers] to not get disturbed by anything. It is being done purposely to burn this State. I thank you all for showing patience and restraint,” he said.
Mr. Thackeray appealed to his party workers not get affected by the BJP’s tactics, which he compared to sledging in cricket. “But let me warn you [BJP], if you start filing false cases against us, we will not keep quiet. There will be no mercy from our side. Don’t set [the central probe] agencies on us and fight under their shadow. Come straight at us. Let’s decide what Maharahstra wants, what Mumbai wants,” Mr Thackeray said.
‘A, B and C teams’
The Chief Minister described MNS chief Raj Thackeray, the Owaisi brothers and the Rana couple as the “A, B and C teams” of the BJP. Mr. Thackeray said these players were given different jobs. “Somebody talks about Aurangzeb, while another speaks about loudspeakers. They get into legal trouble and these people [the BJP] remain unaffected,” he said.
Taunting the MNS chief and his estranged cousin, Mr. Thackeray said, “Someone is wearing a saffron shawl around himself and is thinking of becoming Balasaheb [Sena founder Bal Thackeray], like a chemical locha [a reference from the movie Lage Raho Munna Bhai] in his head. At least the person in the movie was doing something good for the people,” he said.
