The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said the Shiv Sena needed to take certificate of Hindutva from it and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
The attack on Sena president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray came a day after he challenged the BJP on its ideology of Hindutva and said he did not need certificate of it.
“The Shiv Sena’s Hindutva has now become contaminated as it joined hands with the Congress and the NCP for the sake of power. Hindutva of the Sena and the RSS cannot be compared. The Sena will have to take certificate of Hindutva from the BJP and the RSS,” said BJP MLA Ashish Shelar.
Mr. Thackeray had slammed the BJP who had termed that his Hindutva was different than that of his father the late Bal Thackeray. “Your idea of Hindutva is clanging pots and ring bells. Ours is not like that,” he had said. Mr. Thackeray had made reference to the Dasara speech of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, asking the BJP to take lessons from him. Mr. Shelar claimed that the Sena chief made wrong reference of Mr. Bhagwat’s speech.
“The clanging of pots and claps was not about Hindutva but to encourage corona warriors. Linking it with Hindutva was unfortunate,” said the BJP leader.
BJP Rajya Sabh MP Narayan Rane said Mr. Thackeray had no right to lay claim on Hindutva as he betrayed it by allying with the Congress and the NCP for the sake of power. Mr. Rane was with the Congress for over 10 years and worked as a senior minister in two successive State governments from 2004. He switched sides to join the BJP in 2018.
Replying to Mr. Thackeray’s dare to destabilise his government, Mr. Shelar said the Chief Minister himself was unsure about the stability of his government. “Our leaders have already dared him to first concentrate on governance. He is claiming religion is being used to dethrone him. But this government will fall by its own deeds, so no need to bring religion here,” he said.
Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partner NCP slammed the BJP for using derogatory language against the Chief Minister. “No matter how much one blabber. But one has to follow decorum while speaking about the CM,” said Minority Affairs minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik.
