Questioning the alliance an insult to Bal Thackeray: BJP hits back at Uddhav

Uddhav Thackeray and Devendra Fadnavis. File Pics

Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray's comments that his party's 25 years as an ally with the BJP were "wasted" and that the BJP used Hindutva for political gains have led to a political storm.

The remark didn't go well with the BJP and many of its leaders hit back at Thackeray. One of them was Sambit Patra, who said that questioning the alliance on Bal Thackeray's birth anniversary is an "insult" to him.

Patra also tweeted a photo of Uddhav with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and blamed the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition for the Sena's leader's ideology.

Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways, Raosaheb Danve, also said the Sena scion had no right to comment as he was not responsible for the alliance between two parties. "It was Bal Thackeray and Pramod Mahajan who entered into an alliance with the BJP to fight the Congress. Shiv Sena was only in Mumbai, but by holding BJP's hand, it reached the whole of Maharashtra," he said.

"The alliance was the calculation of that time because unless we came together, we could not have fought Congress. At that time, Thackeray was in school. He did not even understand politics then," Danve added.

BJP leader and former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis also gave a sharp retort and said, "Shiv Sena has selective memory. It was not even born when the BJP had its members in the Mumbai civic body. In the 1984 election, their party candidate contested on a BJP ticket," he said.

"Where were you in the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign? We took the bullets and the lathis. Today the Ram temple is being built at Ayodhya under the leadership of PM Modi," added Fadnavis.

BJP leader Ram Kadam on Monday too said Maharashtra CM should introspect whether Shiv Sena itself is following the ideology of its founder Bal Thackeray. Kadam said, "Before lecturing on Hindutva, Uddhav Thackeray should introspect whether Shiv Sena is following late Bal Thackeray's ideology, who had said that in politics and life his party will never join Congress, and if such circumstances arise, he would prefer locking the party (office)."

Thackeray was addressing Shiv Sainiks virtually on the 96th birth anniversary of Bal Thackeray on Sunday when he made the comments. "Shiv Sena had aligned with BJP as it wanted power for Hindutva. Sena never used Hindutva for the sake of power," he said. Thackeray's statement was reiterated by Sena leader Sanjay Raut who claimed that his party took BJP from "bottom to top" in Maharashtra. He also said that after the Babri Masjid demolition, there was a Shiv Sena "wave" in North India.

"If we had fought polls at that time, there would have been our (Shiv Sena) Prime Minister in the country, but we left it for the BJP," he said.

Thackeray's remarks were also backed up by NCP leader Nawab Malik. "Everyone should be proud of their religion, but it is harmful if there is hatred against others. The Shiv Sena is trying to say the same thing that one must be proud of their religion and propagate it, but it is wrong to spread hatred against others. We think Thackeray has said the same thing," he said.