Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray Friday announced a ‘Ram Raksha’ agitation from July 5 in Maharashtra, urging people to join the protest to hold the BJP accountable over the alleged donation embezzlement at the revered Ayodhya temple.
Thackeray said they will gather at the Hanuman temple at Dadar in central Mumbai Sunday (July 5), recite the Hanuman Stotra and Hanuman Chalisa and pressure the BJP to take responsibility for the theft at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
“I appeal to all those agitated over this alleged large-scale theft at the Ram temple to join us and hold the BJP accountable for it,” Thackeray told reporters.
The BJP hit back at the Sena (UBT), with Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane accusing Thackeray of speaking like a Pakistani agent, and said that the places where he performs ‘maha aarti’ should be “purified” with ‘gomutra’.
Claiming that people across the country were facing multiple hardships, Thackeray said there was “chaos” and “indifference” towards public issues despite the BJP being in power at the Centre and in several states.
He said many Hindus, including members of the undivided Shiv Sena, had participated in the Ram temple movement and had endured hardships, including atrocities on “karsevaks”, the Godhra train burning, the Ahmedabad riots and the Mumbai serial bomb blasts, but alleged that the BJP had politically capitalised on these events and was now enjoying “unchecked power”.
The former Maharashtra chief minister also accused the saffron party of engineering defections and horse-trading of opposition legislators, asking whether the ruling party was carrying out an “Operation Ram Mandir”.
Referring to allegations circulating on social media and in the public domain regarding alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ayodhya temple, Thackeray questioned whether the allegedly stolen money had been used to poach opposition leaders.
Invoking former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s famous remark, “Ab Hindu maar nahi khayega”, Thackeray said, “Now, I want to say, ‘Ab Hindu maaf nahi karega’.”
He demanded strict punishment for those allegedly involved in the alleged theft from the Ram temple donation boxes, stressing that “loot in the name of Hindutva” would not be tolerated.
Thackeray also alleged that the BJP’s slogan of “Mandir wahi banayenge” had turned out to be a facade and said the sacrifices made by those who participated in the Ram temple movement would not be allowed to go in vain.
The alleged embezzlement of Ram temple donations came to light June 7. Later, an FIR was registered June 25 following a preliminary report by the Special Investigation Team, which was constituted by the UP government.
Eight persons associated with the temple’s donation and counting process have been arrested in the case, and the investigation is continuing.
Asked whether he would visit the Ayodhya shrine, Thackeray said the temple movement was a nationwide agitation in which his father and Shiv Sena founder, the late Bal Thackeray, had played a key role by touring Maharashtra.
He claimed Bal Thackeray’s statewide campaign had inspired former BJP leader L K Advani to launch the Rath Yatra across the country, and said the BJP could undertake another such yatra, with the Shiv Sena (UBT) ready to participate.
Thackeray first said he would visit Ayodhya with Amit Shah and later clarified that, as per his information, the Union Home Minister has also not visited the temple. “I said it in a lighter vein that I will visit there with Shah,” he stressed.
Alleging that those who had played with the faith and devotion of Hindus had committed “treason”, Thackeray said Maharashtra would lead protests over the issue.
Maharashtra had made a significant contribution to the Ram temple movement, Thackeray said, adding that he would definitely visit the shrine. He further said that when Maharashtra awakens, the rest of the country follows.
BJP state spokesperson Ram Kulkarni said his party had never used Lord Ram for political purposes. “Our party took the initiative to build the Ram temple because Lord Ram represents its faith and identity,” he said.
After years of struggle and agitation, the dream of millions of Hindus was realised under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said.
Kulkarni described the alleged theft at the Ram temple as an isolated incident and said police were investigating the matter and would ensure punishment for those responsible.
He accused Thackeray of trying to derive political mileage from the controversy, saying Sena (UBT) was “fighting for its political survival”.
Kulkarni said that Thackeray had no moral right to recite the Hanuman Chalisa or Ram Raksha, claiming that during his tenure as chief minister, Ram devotees who recited these hymns had been jailed.
Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant told reporters that Bal Thackeray had opposed the Congress when its leader Rahul Gandhi made caustic remarks against V D Savarkar.
“… Where was Thackeray’s Hindutva? Basically, people who were close to him in the past have started drifting towards Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and it has unsettled him,” he said.
His party and cabinet colleague Nitesh Ran claimed that Thackeray “was speaking like a Pakistani agent”.
“Uddhav Thackeray is speaking Osama Bin Laden’s language. Places where Uddhav Thackeray performs “maha aarti” should be ‘purified’ with “gomutra” (cow urine),” he said.
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