Uddhav Thackeray praises RSS chief for his Gyanvapi stand, targets BJP for political betrayals

A fortnight after he lashed out at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray seemed to have eased off on the RSS when he appreciated Mohan Bhagwat’s comment on the Gyanvapi mosque issue.

“We appreciate what Mohan Bhagwat has said,” Thackeray exclaimed while addressing a rally in Aurangabad on Wednesday.

Last week, the RSS chief, while addressing the RSS members graduating from their third-year training course in Nagpur, had said: “There is no need to look at ‘Shivling’ in every mosque…everyone involved in the Gyanvapi mosque-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute should sit together and find a way with mutual consent.”

The Shiv Sena chief, at a May 14 rally in Mumbai, had targeted the ideology parent of Bharatiya Janata Party saying that it was never a part of the freedom struggle.

However, on Wednesday, Thackeray seemed to be slightly mollified, and in his almost-hour-long address at Aurangabad, he touched upon Hindutva: “We breath Hindutva…however, let me recall what late Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray used to say tell us—religion should be kept at home, and he never taught us to hate Muslims and Islam.”

Notwithstanding that, Thackeray made scathing comments about the BJP, saying that because of statements made by its party spokespersons, the country’s reputation was at stake. “Because of a useless spokesperson of the BJP, our country is facing humiliation on a global platform. Even our Prime Minister’s photo was used on dustbins because of the useless spokesperson…he is our Prime Minister…leave aside political differences,” he said.

“Let us be clear, BJP’s stand is not India’s stand,” he asserted.

Further targeting BJP, Thackeray said: “No one from the BJP (is) speaking on the Jammu and Kashmir issue where Hindus and Kashmiri Pandits are being targeted. Hindus are leaving Kashmir, but no one is there to protect them.”

“But here, they are using central agencies like ED and CBI against our people. Let them use the ED and CBI in Jammu and Kashmir (and protect the citizens),” he added.

Saying that the BJP was perturbed because the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was running smoothly for two-and-a-half-years, he claimed: “Those who were our political rivals (Congress and NCP) are with us and we are running the government…those who were our friends (BJP) for 25 to 30 years are our political rivals now…we have wasted 25 years with the BJP.”