Mumbai: In the wake of the controversy over azaan and hanuman chalisa, as well as the usage of loudspeakers, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray slammed the BJP for attempting to weaken his party’s Hindutva credentials. The BJP is being singled out “”If you want to recite Hanuman Chalisa, do it,” he told the bell-ringing Hindutvawadis. However, if you do Dadagiri, we know how to break it up for you… If you challenge the Shiv Sena, we will show you what Bheema Roop and Maha Rudra are… Our Hindutva is as strong as Gadadhari Hanuman “..
“For the last few days, they (the BJP) have been screaming that the Shiv Sena has left Hindutva. What have we left? Is Hindutva a dhoti? That we put it on and take it off? We must remember one thing. Those who are lecturing us on Hindutva must ask themselves what they have done for Hindutva,” said the Chief Minister whose party ended the 30-year alliance with the BJP that he ended in 2019.
Then he retaliated against his former ally: “You hid in your hole when the Babri Masjid was demolished. The court, not your administration, made the decision to build the Ram Temple. And when it was finished, you presented it to the people with a jhola. Where has all your Hindutva gone?”
“The Hindutva that the Shiv Sena Supremo has taught us, it is still there in the thoughts of all these Shiv Sainiks who have heard him,” the Chief Minister remarked, referring to his late father and a Hindutva icon, Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray. His Hindutva was defined by his opposition to Hindus ringing temple bells. He stated that he seeks Hindus who will fight extremism.
The BJP has been supporting Independent MP Navneet Rana and her husband, MLA Ravi Rana, who were arrested outside Mr Thackeray’s residence on Saturday after insisting on reciting the Hanuman Chalisa.
While the uproar erupted over azaans on loudspeakers, the real issue is the upcoming election to the Brihanmumbai Corporation, Mumbai’s vastly wealthy civic body, which is controlled by the Shiv Sena.
The BJP accused the Shiv Sena, which is in power, of overreacting. Mr Thackeray’s predecessor, the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, has claimed that the police action against the Ranas is “Hitlershahi,” despite the fact that he skipped an all-party meeting on the subject today.
“This is happening at the CM’s instructions,” Mr Fadnavis said. “If Hanuman Chalisa is not chanted in Maharashtra will it be chanted in Pakistan? If reciting Hanuman Chalisa is sedition, then all of us will indulge in this sedition and if the government has the guts, it should charge us for sedition,” he added.
The Bombay High Court backed the state’s action against the Ranas, stating the government was “right in its fear of a law-and-order situation.”
“A declaration that a person would recite religious verses at another person’s place or at a public place is a breach of the personal liberty of the other person… With great power comes great responsibility (and) persons in public life are expected to act responsibly,” the judges added, rejecting Navneet Rana’s plea to quash the case against her.
By making their views, the Ranas have been accused of sedition and fostering hostility between groups. Navneet Rana is also accused of obstructing police officers from performing their duties. Their bail hearing is set on Friday.
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