by NEW DELHI: The BJP on Monday hit back at its former ally, the Shiv Sena, a day after Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray accused the saffron party of using “Hindutva for political convenience and power.”
Uddhav Thackeray had on Sunday said “the hollow Hindutva they display is nothing but a charade for power. It is unfortunate that we nurtured them for 25 years.” Uddhav had also accused the BJP of betrayal and claimed attempts were made to destroy the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.
On Monday, senior BJP leader and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis reacted strongly to Uddhav’s remarks and said “You only gave speeches during the Ram Mandir movement, we were the ones who faced the bullets and sticks.”
Fadnavis also took a dig at Sena’s alliance with the Congress and said: “I challenge them (Shiv Sena) to just get a post tweeted for Balasaheb Thackeray, from Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi with whom they are sitting.”
“I want to remind them that their party (Shiv Sena) was not even born when BJP already had a corporator in Mumbai. Till the time they were with us, they used to be number 1 or No. 2 party but now they are at number 4,” Fadnavis said taking a swipe at Sena’s performance in the local body polls.
Union minister Raosaheb Patil Danve also targeted Uddhav’s party and said “Shiv Sena cited Savarakar during campaign speeches in Dombivali. Is this a Hindutva party? … Today Uddhav Thackery is behaving the exact opposite of what Bala Saheb preached. He has joined anti-Hindutva parties in greed of power.”
Senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut also attacked the BJP and said, “We took the BJP from bottom to top in Maharashtra. After Babri, there was a Shiv Sena wave in northern India; if we had fought the polls at that time, there would have been our (Shiv Sena) Prime Minister in the country but we left it for them. BJP only uses Hindutva for power.”
The Shiv Sena fell out with the BJP after the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections and tied up with the NCP and the Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, Sena’s alliance partner, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), also jumped into the debate and defended Uddhav’s remark against the BJP.
“It is a fact that parties which made an alliance with the BJP, were gradually destroyed by them. It’s good to take pride in one’s religion, but it is not right to have hatred towards other religions,” NCP leader Nawab Malik said.
Uddhav Thackeray had on Sunday said “the hollow Hindutva they display is nothing but a charade for power. It is unfortunate that we nurtured them for 25 years.” Uddhav had also accused the BJP of betrayal and claimed attempts were made to destroy the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.
On Monday, senior BJP leader and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis reacted strongly to Uddhav’s remarks and said “You only gave speeches during the Ram Mandir movement, we were the ones who faced the bullets and sticks.”
Fadnavis also took a dig at Sena’s alliance with the Congress and said: “I challenge them (Shiv Sena) to just get a post tweeted for Balasaheb Thackeray, from Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi with whom they are sitting.”
“I want to remind them that their party (Shiv Sena) was not even born when BJP already had a corporator in Mumbai. Till the time they were with us, they used to be number 1 or No. 2 party but now they are at number 4,” Fadnavis said taking a swipe at Sena’s performance in the local body polls.
Union minister Raosaheb Patil Danve also targeted Uddhav’s party and said “Shiv Sena cited Savarakar during campaign speeches in Dombivali. Is this a Hindutva party? … Today Uddhav Thackery is behaving the exact opposite of what Bala Saheb preached. He has joined anti-Hindutva parties in greed of power.”
Senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut also attacked the BJP and said, “We took the BJP from bottom to top in Maharashtra. After Babri, there was a Shiv Sena wave in northern India; if we had fought the polls at that time, there would have been our (Shiv Sena) Prime Minister in the country but we left it for them. BJP only uses Hindutva for power.”
The Shiv Sena fell out with the BJP after the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections and tied up with the NCP and the Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, Sena’s alliance partner, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), also jumped into the debate and defended Uddhav’s remark against the BJP.
“It is a fact that parties which made an alliance with the BJP, were gradually destroyed by them. It’s good to take pride in one’s religion, but it is not right to have hatred towards other religions,” NCP leader Nawab Malik said.
