Jalgaon: In a strong, no-holds-barred attack, Shiv Sena-UBT President Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said that ruling Bharatiya Janata Party “doesn’t know what is Hindutva”.
“Hindutva is not a matter of selfishness, but a nationalist. The BJP doesn’t understand what Hindutva is. Their Hindutva is centred around cow and gomutra (cow-urine). Cow slaughter is banned in one state but not in others… This is their Hindutva,” said Thackeray, as the BJP fights the Karnataka elections on its pet-theme.
Addressing a massive rally in Pachora, Jalgaon this evening, Thackeray denied the charge that he had left Hindutva, saying that after he took the oath as Chief Minister in November 2019, all religions were treated equally.
“I have gone with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)… I have not left Hindutva and will never leave it… show me one instance which made you feel that I had discarded Hindutva,” he asked.
Targetting the BJP, he said that “crushing other people and parties” with the support of central investigating agencies or letting loose goons to attack women leaders of opposing political parties “is not our Hindutva”.
“People ask me – is the BJP a challenge before us? I say the BJP is not a challenge. The real challenge before us is how shall we undo the damage that the BJP is inflicting on the country,” he asserted.