Launching a blistering attack on those who are questioning the Shiv Sena’s Hindutva, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said Balasaheb Thackeray’s Hindutva is not “clanging bells and utensil” during his Dussehra speech on Sunday. Thackeray’s sharp comment comes after a standoff with Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, who questioned the chief minister’s stance on ‘Hindutva’ after he did not allow the reopening of religious places in the state.
“We are being questioned over Hindutva. Why? Because temples are not being opened. Such people whose name might not be known to anyone beyond their family, are asking us about Hindutva,” the Sena chief said.
{{/usCountry}}“We are being questioned over Hindutva. Why? Because temples are not being opened. Such people whose name might not be known to anyone beyond their family, are asking us about Hindutva,” the Sena chief said.
{{/usCountry}}Also Read: Uddhav Thackeray blocks CBI from probing cases in Maharashtra, withdraws general consent
This year’s Dussehra rally is significant because this is the first time a Sena chief is also the Maharashtra CM. This is also the first time that the grand annual rally was held not on the Shivaji Park ground — where it used to be held traditionally — but at Swatantryaveer Savarkar auditorium opposite the Shivaji Park ground at Dadar in central Mumbai. The change of the venue was due to Covid-19 protocol. The address was live-streamed on Shiv Sena’s social media accounts.
“From the day I became the CM, it was being said that the state government will be toppled. They keep giving dates. I challenge and say that if you have the courage, do it and show,” the Shiv Sena chief said.
A day after the party criticised BJP’s vaccine promise in Bihar in its Saamana editorial, Uddhav questioned the national role of the government. “You are talking about giving free vaccines in Bihar. Is rest of the country Pakistan or Bangladesh? Those speaking like that should be ashamed of themselves. You are at the centre,” he said.
The recent episodes in which Mumbai has apparently eared a bad name — Sushant Singh Rajput death case investigation, Kangana Ranaut comparing Bollywood to Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, Bollywood actors being summoned by Narcotics Control Bureau over dug links — also found mentions in Thackeray’s speech.
The Maharashtra government has recently withdrawn the general consent of the state to the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe cases in the state.