Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), praised his ally Rahul Gandhi, for asking tough questions to the BJP about industrialist Gautam Adani. However, Thackeray sharply criticized Gandhi for his remarks about Hindutva ideologue V.D. Savarkar.
He stated that Shiv Sena (UBT) regards Savarkar as a deity and would not tolerate any insult against him.
Speaking at a rally in Malegaon, Thackeray said that his Sena faction had fully supported Gandhi’s recent Bharat Jodo Yatra. However, they would not tolerate any insult to their deities (V.D. Savarkar) in the ongoing fight to save democracy.
Thackeray stated that Rahul Gandhi speaks well. He added that BJP has no answer to his questions about Gautam Adani. But he openly told Rahul Gandhi that, while they have come together in this fight to save the constitution and democracy, Savarkar is their deity, and they will not tolerate any insult to him. He urged Gandhi not to let cracks emerge within the alliance during this critical fight to save democratic freedoms. Thackeray said that it was impossible for an ordinary person to achieve and endure what Savarkar suffered at the hands of the British authorities at Andaman’s cellular jail during his incarceration. Without naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he called upon the ‘Savarkar bhakts’ within the BJP to join him in saving the country from the ‘dictatorship’. The ‘dictatorship’ Prime Minister and the top BJP brass leading the country towards.
Sensitive topic
Mr. Gandhi’s frequent criticisms of the controversial Vinayak Savarkar — a particularly sensitive topic in Maharashtra — had embarrassed Mr. Thackeray during the former’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in the State in November last year as well
Meanwhile, Uddhav Thackeray trained guns on the Eknath Shinde-led Sena and the BJP, he dared the ruling government to call for elections. He further challenged the BJP to announce whether it would fight the 2024 Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections. Both under the leadership of current Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.