"Fake Hindutva Party Misleading Nation": Uddhav Thackeray

There is "a fake Hindutva party" misleading the nation, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Saturday in a counter attack on the BJP that questioned the party's Hindutva credentials.

"There is fake Hindutva party that's misleading the nation. Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra ex chief minister) was speaking about their Hindutva. We have kicked you out. They think they are the protectors of Hindutva. What about the people here? Who are they?" said Uddhav Thackeray at a mega rally at the Bandra-Kurla Complex.  

While several attempts have been made to portray that the Sena has moved away from the ideals of Bal Thackeray, the party has consistently hit back saying it is firmly treading in the footsteps of its founder Bal Thackeray.

"Your mother body the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has never been part of the freedom struggle. The Samyukta Maharashtra movement was created by my  grandfather and assisted by my father and his brother Shrikant. But you know who dropped out. The Bharatiya Jan Sangh," said the Chief Minister.

The RSS is the BJP's ideological fountainhead.

"Don't take our restraint for weakness. We have heard of acid attacks by jilted lovers. They (BJP) are behaving like that. They are defaming Maharashtra," said Uddhav Thackeray.

"Rahul Bhat (Kashmiri Pandit) was killed in a government office. Extremists came and killed him. Will you read the Hanuman Chalisa there?" asked the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister also took head on the BJP criticism for going with a party, the Congress, that is its ideological opposite.

"They say we went with Congress. We went openly. What about your morning swearing in? Yes, we went with NCP. Had they been with you, you would be singing praises of people like Nawab Malik," said the Chief Minister.

Nawab Malik, NCP leader and minister in the Maharashtra government, was arrested on February 23 by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides.

The "bogus Hindutva BJP" formed an alliance with Mehbooba Mufti, the Chief Minister counter attacked.

"If Dawood (Ibrahim) says I'll join the BJP, then he can also become a minister. Here they tell people, see how the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is going after people in Maharashtra... Tomorrow they will make Dawood also a minister and they'll say oh it's not such a big deal," said the Sena leader.

The Sena Chief also hit back at his cousin Raj Thackeray, who has been attacking him over loudspeakers-on-mosques issue.

"Sanjay Dutt started seeing Gandhi and started doing Gandhigiri, today there is a fellow in Maharashtra who sees Balasaheb and thinks he is Balasaheb by wearing a shawl," said Uddhav Thackeray.

"But the end of the film is important. He later realises there is a chemical locha (imbalance) in his brain. This is the result of chemical locha," he added.

Earlier speaking at the rally, Chief Minister's son Aaditya Thackeray underlined that the "Shiv Sena has Ram in its heart". He will also visit Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh on June 15.

"I am speaking to you as a 31-year-old. There is unemployment and inflation, you decide which government you want. There is an attempt to create division in society. Do you want a government that sets homes on fire or one that ensures a fire is lit in your home. We have Ram in our hearts and we want that you have work in your hands," said Aaditya Thackeray.