BJP hits back at Shiv Sena, says Uddhav’s Hindutva claim hollow

Responding to Thackeray’s remarks that the Sena was at the forefront of the demolition of Babri Masjid, Fadnavis said it was nowhere on the scene when the mosque was demolished in 1992.

A day after chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said the Shiv Sena wasted 25 years in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party, former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said he was speaking out of frustration and ‘selective memory’. The BJP also said that Thackeray’s claim on being a Hindutva party was hollow.

“Uddhavji should remember that we had had corporators in Mumbai and MLAs even before the Sena was born,” said Devendra Fadnavis. ((Kunal Patil/HT photo))

Responding to Thackeray’s remarks that the Sena was at the forefront of the demolition of Babri Masjid, Fadnavis said it was nowhere on the scene when the mosque was demolished in 1992.

He said BJP workers and leaders faced the batons and bullets while the Sena has not been able to resolve the disputes over Durgadi and Malanggad forts (where two religions stake claim to places of worship).

Addressing a press conference, Fadnavis also questioned why the Sena could not rename Aurangabad and Osmanabad districts when Yogi Aaditynath could rename Allahabad as Prayagraj. He said the BJP lives with the Hindutva and it is only under the leadership of prime minister Narendra Modi that the Ram Temple at Ayodhya is being constructed.

“The CM has also criticised us that we used the local partners and could spread the roots because of them. Uddhavji should remember that we had had corporators in Mumbai and MLAs even before the Sena was born,” he said.

Fadnavis said Uddhav claimed that they had a very favourable political environment in early 1990s after the demolition of the Babri masjid. “He should remember that the Sena had contested 180 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, of which 179 candidates lost their deposits, while in 1996, 23 of the 24 candidates could not save their deposits. Even in 2002, all 39 candidates lost their deposits.”

He said the Sena was on the top position in the local body elections when in alliance with the BJP, but now after snapping the ties, it has been reduced to fourth position in recent local body polls.

Addressing party workers virtually on Sunday on the occasion of 96th birth anniversary of Sena founder Bal Thackeray, Uddhav said they wasted 25 years in its alliance with the BJP. He attacked the BJP – with whom the Sena first came together in 1994 – saying it used its local partners for politics and “threw them out at their convenience.” He said the BJP’s Hindutva is “nothing but a charade for power.” He termed the BJP’s idea of Hindutva “hollow.”

Fadnavis said the Sena chief has raised questions over the leadership of his father and party founder Bal Thackeray who led the party until 2012 and approved the alliance between the two till then. He also alleged that the Sena has helplessly continued its alliance with the Congress.

“We pay respect to honourable Balasaheb Thackeray and will continue to do so. But the Sena should reply why Congress leaders like Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi do not even tweet to pay tribute to Balasaheb on his birth or death anniversary,” he asked.

Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut hit back at Fadnavis, saying the BJP leader is misleading the people.

“Fadnavis has said they had won corporation and Assembly polls even before the Sena was founded. He should produce the birth certificate of the BJP, which was founded in early 1980s. The Sena was born in 1966. Hundreds of Sena workers stood by Hindus during the riots in 1993 erupted after the demolition of the masjid. Sena workers sacrificed their lives and many, including Balasaheb, faced criminal cases. Where were they (BJP leaders) then?” he questioned.

Replying to the remarks on the issue of renaming Aurangabad and Osmanabad, Raut said it was the responsibility of the Central government. “Why did Fadnavis himself not get it done from the Central government when he was the CM of Maharashtra for five years?” he said.

Speaking about the defeat of his party in polls elsewhere outside Maharashtra, Raut said the BJP first should speak about its defeat in states like West Bengal, Kerala for the last 40 years.