Mumbai/Lucknow: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday asserted that he might have broken alliance with long-time ally Bhartiya Janta Party and joined ranks with Congress and Nationalist Congress Party, but his Hindutva ideology is still intact.
“I have parted ways with the BJP, not with Hindutva. The BJP doesn’t represent Hindutva. Hindutva is a different thing and I have not parted ways with it,” said Thackeray, the Shiv Sena chief who was in Ayodhya to commemorate 100 days in office.
Thackeray said even though he and his party have agreed that MVA government under the Common Minimum Programme will function on secular principles of the Constitution of India, he cannot sacrifice the Hindutva.
Thackeray arrived in the temple town Saturday afternoon along with his wife and son Aaditya for the first time after becoming Chief Minister November last year, following a squabble over power sharing with the BJP which led to their break-up. Thackeray hinted that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by him is on firm footing and Shiv Sena's patch-up with BJP is remote.
Thackeray is taking due care not to cross the “Laxman Rekha” while pursuing his party's Hindutva and running the coalition government. Thackeray goes on to reassure his new partners that Shiv Sena is on the same page when it comes to development of the state. Incidentally, Congress minister Sunil Kedar accompanied Thackeray at Ayodhya. Similarly, NCP MP Supriya Sule said she did not find anything objectionable in Thackeray's Ayodhya visit. She made it clear that the government is safe and stable.
Thackeray, who was flanked by his son and state Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray and the party’s members of parliament, said about his visit to the city: “I am here to seek the blessings of Ram Lalla. Our 18 Members of Parliament are also here with me to pay homage to the deity.”
He announced Rs 1 crore aid for the proposed Ram Temple. He was scheduled to perform an aarti, cancelled it due to concerns over the coronavirus. Thackerays returned to Lucknow after taking darshan of the deity from where they will fly to Mumbai in the night.
