Thackeray slammed the BJP saying its Hindutva is only for votes and tried to corner the saffron party demanding the Indian government should inform Parliament what steps it is taking to protect Hindus in Bangladesh, where minorities have faced violent attacks.
“Hindus are being oppressed in Bangladesh. The temple of ISKCON was burnt and its chief was arrested, still we are silent. On behalf of all Hindus, I request Prime Minister Modi that just as he stopped the war in Ukraine over a phone call to repatriate Indian students, he should take a stand against the oppression of Hindus in Bangladesh,” said Thackeray.
There is no use of just doing batenge and katenge here. Courage should be shown where abuses are taking place, he added.
“Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is safe in India, but what about Hindus in the neighbouring country?” the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief questioned.
The former CM also referred to a notice issued by the Railways to demolish an 80-year old Hanuman temple built by porters outside Dadar railway station in Mumbai who work at the railway station and said a ‘fatwa’ has been issued to bring down the 80-year-old shrine built by loaders. Taking a dig at the BJP over its “Ek hai toh safe hai” slogan, he said even temples are not safe under the regime of the national party.
The attack by Uddhav drew a sharp response from the BJP state president, Chandrashekhar Bawankule, as he stated that Uddhav does not have the stature to say anything about Prime Minister Modi.
The BJP leader said that people knew by now that Uddhav's love for Hindutva is totally fake; he joined hands with Congress just for power. “When priests were murdered in Palghar people saw your anti-Hindutva position. Our government is solidly supporting Hindus in Bangladesh. That is why the CAA was passed. But that time your people kept quiet in Rajya Sabha as they were afraid of Congress expressing anger. Uddhav neither has the right nor the stature to say anything to Prime Minister Modi," said Bawankule.
