Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and said mere chanting of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” does not make one a patriot or prove one’s love for the country.
Addressing the Assembly during the Budget session, Uddhav Thackeray said the Shiv Sena was not part of the freedom struggle but neither was the BJP’s “parent organisation” (the RSS). “Therefore, only chanting ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ does not prove your love for the country. You don’t have the right to chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ if you are not going to give justice to people and if you are forcing farmers to protest on the streets,” Uddhav Thackeray said.
While the Shiv Sena have been targeting the BJP on a regular basis, this was a rare occasion when Uddhav Thackeray attacked the RSS too.
The Maharashtra CM also took a potshot at the Centre over changing the Motera stadium’s name to Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad. “We won’t lose any cricket match as the name of the stadium (Motera) has been changed to Narendra Modi stadium. We have named the international airport after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj but they have changed Sardar Patel stadium’s name. We don’t have to learn Hindutva from you,” said Thackeray.
On February 25, amid a controversy over the renaming of the cricket stadium, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani clarified that the name change involves only the Motera stadium and the sports complex where it is located will continue to be named after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Hitting out at Congress, Rupani had said, “We are building a sports complex on a 233-acre land and have named it as Sardar Patel Sports Complex. Only the cricket stadium has been named Narendra Modi Stadium. So Congress has no right to criticise.” The newly-built Motera Stadium was renamed the Narendra Modi Stadium in Gujarat on 24 February.
Thackeray also spoke about the recently passed farm laws and opposed the views of the Centre stating that farmers are in trouble in Punjab. “Farmers are in trouble there (Punjab). Their power and water supplies have been cut off and nails put in their path. But they run away when they see China. If this kind of preparation was made at borders with China or Bangladesh, infiltration won’t happen,” he said.
The 10-day joint session of the Maharashtra Legislature began on March 1. The budget of Maharashtra will be tabled on March 8.
