Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has once again launched an attack on Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and asked where he was when the Babri Masjid was demolished. Earlier, Uddhav Thackeray had said Raj Thackeray’s party and the BJP went into hiding during the Babri Masjid demolition.
In a meeting held with Shiv Sena’s spokespersons on Friday, CM Uddhav Thackeray also took on the BJP and said the saffron party and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s Hindutva were bogus. Calling the Opposition ‘neo-Hindus’, he asked the Shiv Sena to take on the BJP and the MNS aggressively.
Read: ‘You went into hiding’: Uddhav Thackeray tears into BJP, MNS over Babri demolition
Uddhav Thackeray’s meeting was seen as a morale-boosting exercise as the Sena prepares to take on the BJP over its allegations of corruption in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The Shiv Sena is also facing the challenge of the MNS on issues like reciting the Hanuman Chalisa and the removal of loudspeakers from mosques.
“We have been asked to take on the opposition aggressively and not get bogged down by cases or actions taken by central agencies like the ED and CBI,” said Rajya Sabha MP and the party’s chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut.
He added, “The BJP and the MNS are both taking on the Sena aggressively. CM Thackeray has told all spokespersons to be aggressive but to respond intelligently after studying allegations being made every day by the BJP on various issues of the government.”
Read: We are against loudspeakers, not any religion, says MNS a day after Nashik cops’ directive
Raut went on to say that the Opposition was using a Hindu Owaisi against the Sena to cut Hindu votes. People are well aware of who the Hindu Owaisi is. “Uddhav saheb has told us that those harping on Hindutva are all bogus and neo-Hindus. He said Hindutva is not something that has to be displayed. Those who troubled Bala saheb when he was alive are now coming and questioning the Sena on Hindutva.”
“The Chief Minister instructed us to convey to the people the work done by the Sena in a timely manner. Raj Thackeray is going to Ayodhya now. Why?