Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday launched an all-out attack on former ally Bharatiya Janata Party over the killing of Kashmiri Pandit Rahul Bhat in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district. Said that our Hindutva has now become a mace, so now will you read Hanuman Chalisa in Jammu and Kashmir? Describing BJP as a fake Hindutva party, Thackeray took a jibe at the BJP.
Addressing a rally in Mumbai, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said, “Our ‘Hindutva’ has become ‘Gadadhari’. Kashmiri Pandit Rahul Bhat was killed by terrorists at a tehsil office in Jammu and Kashmir, now what are you (BJP) doing? Will you? Will you read Hanuman Chalisa there”?
Terming the BJP as a fake ‘Hindutva party’, Thackeray continued his attack on the saffron party. Said that “No one is speaking about inflation. We wasted our 25 years because of alliance with BJP, they are the worst. The fake ‘Hindutva’ party which was with us earlier has taken the country to hell ”
Thackeray’s anger comes amid a row over the chanting of Hanuman Chalisa in the state, which escalated after the arrests of MPs Navneet Rana and Ravi Rana. The Rana couple has been released after 12 days. The BJP left no stone unturned in attacking its former ally, questioning his Hindutva credentials. BJP leader CT Ravi actually compared Thackeray with the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said, “They (BJP) may also give party ticket to Dawood Ibrahim. The situation in the country is extremely dangerous. The one whom we voted for in power and trusted is stabbing us in the back.” Maharashtra did the best job during the pandemic.”
Significantly, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had said that Shiv Sena has questioned the Center regarding the murder of Rahul Bhatt in Budgam. He said, ‘Even after the removal of Article 370, if Kashmiri Pandits and general public are not safe, then you need to take strong steps. The problem of Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmir will not be solved by raising issues like Hanuman Chalisa and Masjid (loudspeakers on mosques). The government has to be pragmatic on this.”
