Uddhav Thackeray tells Muslim delegation secularism at stake

This time it wasnrsquot a sea of saffron but white kurtas and beards that descended on MatoshreeAbout 60 Muslims from Jogeshwari and Versova met Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday The meeting an initiative of Jogeshwari corporator Raju Pednekar saw an interesting exchange of viewsThackeray made it clear that he was a Hindu but his Hindutva wasnrsquot that of the BJP related RTI activist Mansoor Darvesh ldquoWe believe in insaniyat humanity in taking everyone alongrdquo the former CM saidThis election was to save the Constitution and secularism he told the delegationHe reminded the Muslims that his father Sena chief Bal Thackeray had permitted a Sunni ijtema to be held just behind his house when the Sena was in power in 1997 The Intelligence Bureau had cautioned Thackeray then saying it could be dangerous given the historical animosity between him and Muslims However the Sena founder had dismissed their fears On their part the Muslims told him that they appreciated his work during COVID and also his refusal to compromise with the BJP ldquoSanjay Raut even went to jail but you didnrsquot bendrdquo businessman Iqbal Chunawala told himRiyaz Bhamla businessman and social worker thanked Thackeray for sanctioning funds for the upgradation of the Oshiwara municipal maternity home a project taken up by Pednekar As CM Thackeray had inaugurated the projectldquoThe new hospital will be a boon to usrdquo Bhamla told himThere were some issues that the delegation raised with him the lack of Muslim candidates this time ldquoYou should have come earlierrdquo was the reply the fear that Sena candidates for whom the Muslims would campaign would later defect to the BJP ldquoIrsquoll make them take a vow in public that they wonrsquotrdquo the absence of Sena programmes in Muslim areas ldquoIrsquoll set up a committee for thisrdquoThackeray turned down their request to hold a rally in Jogeshwari for his candidate Amol Kirtikar saying he was to tour the state but assured them that his son Aaditya would come to the areaHe asked the delegation to attend the last rally of the MVA which would be held in Mumbai on May 17Incidentally Amol Kirtikar is the son of Gajanan Kirtikar whose name featured in the Srikrishna Commission report on the 9293 riots Kirtikar had led a rally to the police station which later turned violent according to the Commissionrsquos report which described this as the first major violent incident of the 1993 phase of the riots in JogeshwariIn 2008 Kirtikar was acquitted by a special court handling riots casesBut none of this featured in Thursdayrsquos meetingThe delegation was charmed by the former CMrsquos ldquohumilityrdquo ldquoHe listened to us carefullyrdquo said Bhamla Darvesh told him ldquoElection or no election we must keep meetingrdquoChunawala recalled the time when a Sena mayor was elected with the help of the Muslim League in 1973 ldquoIt seems those days are backrdquo he told Thackeray The latter responded by saying that wherever he travels he finds Muslims supporting him wholeheartedly