'Muh me Ram, bagal mein Rahul': BJP mocks Uddhav Thackeray

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has taken the place of Lord Ram in Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray's politics. The saffron party took a jibe at its former ally after Thackeray accepted Congress' invite to welcome Rahul Gandhi's 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' in Maharashtra.

Speaking to reporters here, state BJP's chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye said, “Uddhav Thackeray never left home even for the sake of his party, but now he has set out to welcome Rahul Gandhi." Uddhav's father, late Sena founder Bal Thackeray ensured that eminent personalities visited his residence but now "time is taking a revenge by making Uddhav Thackeray go to Nanded to welcome Rahul," he said.

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For Thackeray, it is 'Muh me Ram, bagal mein Rahul', the BJP spokesperson said. The old Hindi saying 'Muh me Ram, bagal me chhuri' is used to describe someone who pretends to be pious but harbours malicious intentions.

Thackeray never took to the streets for Hindutva or participated in the Rath Yatra organised by BJP leader L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, Upadhye further said. The Sena and BJP, allies for three decades, parted ways in 2019 after a bitter dispute over the chief minister's post.