‘Will you chant Hanuman Chalisa…’: Uddhav Thackeray slams BJP over Rahul Bhat's killing

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray also attacked former ally BJP on inflation, saying that the Sena wasted 25 years due to alliance with the saffron party.

Published on: May 14, 2022, 21:14:11 IST

By HT News Desk | Written by Aryan Prakash

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Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday launched an all out attack on former ally Bharatiya Janata Party over the killing of Kashmiri Pandit government employee Rahul Bhat in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing a rally in Mumbai, the chief minister said,"Our 'Hindutva' is 'Gadadhari'. Rahul Bhat was killed by terrorists at Tehsil's office in J&K, now what will you (BJP) do? Will you read Hanuman Chalisa there"?

Calling the BJP a fake 'Hindutva party, Thackeray continued his attack on the saffron party. "No one is speaking about inflation. We wasted our 25 years due to an alliance with BJP, they are the worst. The fake 'Hindutva' party which was earlier with us has taken the country to hell".

Thackeray's outburst comes amid the controversy surrounding the chanting of Hanuman Chalisa in the state, which escalated following the arrest of lawmaker couple Navneet Rana and Ravi Rana. The Rana couple was released 12 days later. The BJP has minced no words in attacking its former ally, questioning its Hindutva credentials. BJP leader CT Ravi had in fact compared Thackeray to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray addresses rally in Mumbai. (Twitter/ANI)

The Shiv Sena has questioned the Centre over the killing of Rahul Bhat in Budgam. “If even after removing Article 370, if Kashmiri Pandits and the common public are not safe, then you need to take harsh steps. Kashmiri Pandits and the problem of Kashmir will not be resolved by taking up the issues like Hanuman Chalisa and mosques (loudspeakers on mosques). The government has to be practical on this," Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had said.

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HT News Desk
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