Ram is not the BJP’s property, says Uddhav

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray criticized the BJP and PM Narendra Modi for their "anti-Maharashtra politics" and declared a fight against them in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. He accused the BJP of trying to establish ownership of Ram, and compared CM Eknath Shinde to Wali, who was killed by Ram. Thackeray also slammed Modi for his frequent visits to Maharashtra and criticized the Maharashtra-Gujarat divide. He handed over soil from Shivneri Fort, the birthplace of Chatrapati Shivaji, to district chiefs for "awakening Maharashtra".

Coming down heavily on the BJP and prime minister Narendra Modi for their “anti-Maharashtra politics” and “conspiring to finish off the Shiv Sena”, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday sounded the bugle for the Lok Sabha polls in a party conclave and a public rally at Nashik, held to coincide with the birth anniversary of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray. “It’s time to have a ‘BJP-mukt Ram’,” he declared. “Maharashtra will fight and teach them a lesson, and the country will win.”

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Thackeray declared that Ram was nobody’s private property. “The BJP is trying to establish ownership of Ram,” he said. “But the Ram temple could be inaugurated today only because Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was born in Maharashtra and Shiv Sena party workers did kar seva at Ayodhya.” Thackeray also castigated Modi’s being equated with Shivaji, and said that Maharashtra would never tolerate this. “Nowadays, Ravan is roaming around, wearing the mask of Ram,” he said. “It’s time to tear off the mask and expose Ravan.”

Continuing the mythological references, Thackeray compared CM Eknath Shinde with Wali, who had abducted the wife of Sugriv and was killed by Ram. “We will have to carry out a political assassination of Eknath Shinde, who abducted the Shiv Sena,” he said.

Sena (UBT) leaders Sanjay Raut, Ambadas Danve, Subhash Desai and others were present on the occasion. Kar sevaks who were at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, the day the Babri Masjid was brought down, were given a place near the stage. Thackeray’s wife, Rashmi, for the first time, sat on the dais with Uddhav Thackeray, prompting MLA Bhaskar Jadhav to make a public appeal to her to campaign for the party. “Forty traitors betrayed the party and it’s war time for us,” he said. “Women party workers are very keen on Rashmi Thackeray campaigning so I request her to.”

Thackeray declared that Maharashtra had a history of “burying powerful regimes and invaders like Aurangzeb and Afzal Khan”. “Now too, Maharashtra will fight and the country will win,” he said. He compared the BJP with a glass of poison and endorsed the INDIA alliance as an alternative for voters in the coming election.

Thackeray slammed Modi for his increasing visits to Maharashtra. “He has no time to visit a burning Manipur but keeps visiting Maharashtra, as we have 48 Lok Sabha seats,” he said. “Modi and the BJP have nothing to show for their 10 years of governance so now they are begging for votes in the name of Ram.”

The Sena (UBT) chief also brought up the Maharashtra-Gujarat divide. “This man ki baat for the nation and dhan ki baat for Gujarat will not be tolerated,” he said. “Now the Filmfare awards ceremony too is happening in Gujarat. PM Modi’s politics is dividing Hindutva and creating an unnecessary rift between Gujarat and the nation.” He also slammed the state and central governments for harassing opposition leaders and warned that they would be taught a lesson once the opposition came to power.

Thackeray came down heavily on the BJP-RSS for its lack of credentials before independence. “The RSS never participated in the freedom movement,” he said. “At that time there was no BJP, but Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, the founder of the Jan Sangh and the idol of today’s BJP, formed the government in pre-independence Bengal in alliance with the Muslim League, which had already passed a resolution for the creation of Pakistan. Mukherjee also wrote a letter to the then British governor, suggesting that he crush the Quit India movement.”

Earlier, Thackeray handed over the soil of Shivneri Fort—the birthplace of Chatrapati Shivaji—to his district chiefs, and asked them to take it to their districts and hold functions to “awaken Maharashtra”.