JOIN USReciting Hanuman Chalisa is sedition, going to Aurangzeb’s grave is protocol: Fadnavis lashes out at Uddhav
In a vehement attack on Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said Balasaheb Thackeray would have been pained to see that during his son's rule, reciting Hanuman Chalisa is sedition and going to Aurangzeb’s tomb is protocol.
Fadnavis also vowed to bring down the “Babri” and "Lanka of corruption" of the Thackeray Sarkar as he lashed out at the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government comprising Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress.
The diatribe by Fadnavis comes a day after Thackeray’s no-holds-barred attack on BJP, particularly Fadnavis.
Fadnavis, a two-time former chief minister, was addressing a rally in Mumbai. He chose to address Thackeray's criticism of the former's statement that as a young BJP leader, he was in Babri when the mosque was brought down in 1992 and he has not seen a single Shiv Sena leader or worker there.
Thackeray in his rally on Saturday had said, “He (Fadnavis) claimed that he was present when Babri was brought down. What was your age(then)? What are you speaking? How much does he speak? Was it a school picnic or was he sight seeing? If Devendra (Fadnavis) would have tried to climb atop Babri, it would have crumbled because of his weight.”
Fadnavis responded by saying, “Yes I was in Babri. Now I am 102 kgs, then I was 128 kgs. Let me tell him, in 1992, I was a corporator in Nagpur and a lawyer. Yes I was in Babri and I was in Budaun jail. We were just waiting where were they, when they would come. Let me tell him in the language he understands. If my FSI is now 1.5, then it was 2.5. Yes, I was very much there."
Fadnavis pointed out that Balasaheb used to refer to NCP chief Sharad Pawar as “maida cha potya” (sack of flour) and warned him to be careful of “heavy people”.
Fadnavis accused the MVA of rampant corruption and mismanagement, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. “No doubt Balsaheb was a wagh (tiger) but today there is only one tiger. (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi,” he said.
Accusing the Shiv Sena of fake Hindutva, Fadnavis said that BJP would undertake 'kar seva' time and again when it comes to protecting Hindu culture and traditions.
Fadnavis also refuted Thackeray's charge that BJP was behaving like a one-sided, jilted lover. "In fact, you took our property, ran away and married someone else. Even while there was no official divorce," he said. In yet another charge, Fadnavis said, "Saturday's rally (of Thackeray) was meant to please (Congress President) Sonia Gandhi."