‘Apologise, not forgive': Uddhav, Raj Thackeray's message to PM Modi, Amit Shah

The Thackerays have called on PM Modi, Amit Shah to “apologise" to the protestors, after the PM posted a video saying he “forgave” those who abused him.

Cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray on Saturday separately lambasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his video “forgiving” Gen Z protestors for using abusive language during the NEET paper leak protests.

Raj Thackeray was addressing his party’s student wing, Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena, on its 20th anniversary at Ravindra Natya Mandir on Saturday. (Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

Both demanded that Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah apologise to the protesters who faced brutal police action and the families that lost their children after the NEET paper leak. They also reminded Modi that it was his blind followers who had pioneered the use of filthy language in the public discourse.

Raj was addressing his party’s student wing, Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena, on its 20th anniversary, while Uddhav was speaking at Shiv Sena Bhavan to his party office bearers.

Raj said that while he agreed that the use of abusive language was wrong, it was BJP supporters who began the use of such language. “As you sow, so shall you reap,” he said. “Modi should preach about language to his supporters first. While abusing him or his mother is wrong, he should not forget that others too have mothers. The BJP trolls target even icons, right from Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi to the Thackerays.”

The MNS chief said that while the NEET paper leak was a trigger for the youth-led protest, the overwhelming response it received was due to the culmination of all grievances against the central government accumulated over 12 years. “Not all the agitators were students, yet why did they protest?” he asked. “This is about the future of this country. Give them jobs. Shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram isn’t going to solve the problem.”

Uddhav too took on Modi on the “forgiveness” video. “First of all, who will apologise to the families of students who died by suicide?” he asked. “And what about the student protesters at Jantar Mantar who were brutally attacked by the Delhi police with pellet guns, lathis embedded with nails and tear gas? Some male policemen tore the clothes of women protesters. PM Modi and Amit Shah should apologise to them.”

Referring to national security advisor Ajit Doval receiving the Lokmanya Tilak National Award at an event in Pune from Amit Shah, Uddhav said that Tilak was known as the father of Indian unrest. “But Modi and Shah are fathers of the unrest against their own government,” he quipped.

Meanwhile, Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday wrote a letter to the Director General of Police and sought clarity on the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to handle the protest cases against students. “While the BJP regime in Maharashtra has issued a notification on withdrawing cases in Maharashtra against student protesters, there is still confusion about how this will be done,” he said in a post on X. “We need clarity and an SOP that shall be applicable to all the cases across the state. We still stand by our promise to all those who have mailed their FIRs/ notices to us at shivsenaubtlegal@gmail.com and will guide all of them in this procedure/ fighting the case if need be.”

When contacted, BJP chief spokesperson Navnath Ban said that Raj and Uddhav Thackeray should stop firing their guns from students’ shoulders to attack Narendra Modi. “The entire country saw what actually happened at Jantar Mantar and under what circumstances the police took action,” he said. “There is no question of PM Modi apologising. Instead, Raj and Uddhav Thackeray should apologise to the students for turning their movement into a political party’s campaign. Their attempt to relaunch their political careers in the name of Gen Z will not succeed in Maharashtra.”