Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the Ram Mandir alleged misappropriation of donations case, saying the ruling party may be using the funds to “break political parties”.
The Sena (UBT) chief’s accusations come in the wake of six parliamentarians defecting from his party to the Shiv Sena (Shindi), a member of the BJP’s National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
“Operation Ram Mandir”
While addressing a press conference on Friday, Thackeray raised the possibility of the BJP carrying out ‘Operation Ram Mandir’ in order to separate MPs and MLAs from their political parties.
“The way MPs and MLAs are being broken and this process is called… Is the BJP carrying out ‘Operation Ram Mandir’?” He alleged while accusing the BJP of using the Ram Mandir embezzlement case for political gains, news agency ANI reported.
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“There is evidence of theft taking place. Some people say that the money stolen from the Ram temple is being used to break up political parties. Atal Bihari Vajpayee once said that Hindus will no longer be victims. Today, I say that Hindus will no longer forgive those who loot temples.”
Thackeray also said that, if necessary, he could visit the Ram temple in Ayodhya along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “I will definitely visit the Ram temple with Amit Shah. If the BJP pulls off another Rath Yatra, the Shiv Sena will participate in it,” he said.
“The Ram Temple movement saw the participation of Shiv Sainiks and many Hindus. Everyone remembers the Kar Sevak atrocities. Before this movement, the BJP had only two MPs. It is unfortunate that the Ram Temple is now in the news for another reason,” he added.
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Party defections
Thackeray’s comments come days after six of his party members defected and joined Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena unit, which falls under the NDA alliance. This decision comes in the wake of earlier statements made by MP Sanjay Raut suggesting that there is an inappropriate balance of power within the party with “some” being given too much, as HT had previously reported.
“We need to identify a person’s character. Some get so much that it hurts party loyalists,” Raut said and called for introspection within the party. His statements echo those made recently by UBT Sena’s Sunil Shinde after former MLA Sachin Ahir’s exit from the party.
Thackeray also launched a Maharashtra-wide ‘Ram Raksha’ movement where Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders are scheduled to visit the Hanuman temple at Dadar West in Mumbai on Sunday evening to “recit the Ram Raksha Stotra, Maruti Stotra and Hanuman Chalisa”.
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“All Ram Bhaktis [devotees] Angry at the looting in the name of Ram temple he should participate in it,” he said while publicly calling on everyone, irrespective of their political affiliation, to join the movement “against looted Ram temple donations across the state”.
