Mumbai: Days after postponing his visit to Ayodhya, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray trained his gun at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleging that there was a ploy to “trap” him and his party workers in Uttar Pradesh. Raj indirectly pointed fingers at the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh saying that the leaders from Maharashtra were part of the game plan. The change in the political stand by the MNS chief surprised many in the political corridors and is being viewed as a way to distance his party from the BJP, a political analyst said.
Over the last month and a half, Thackeray had raked up the issue of loudspeakers atop mosques to corner the Shiv Sena. The BJP had joined the chorus to question Sena’s commitment to Hindutva over the issue.
While Raj kept attacking Sena in an attempt to grab the share of Hindutva pie, he had never criticised the BJP or its leadership, which he had targetted ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election. In three rallies held in Mumbai, Thane and Aurangabad, he praised the BJP and its leadership. The U-turn on Sunday at his Pune rally has surprised many.
BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh had stiffly opposed the visit of Raj to Ayodhya scheduled for June 5 and had warned that Raj Thackeray will not be allowed to enter Ayodhya till he tendered a public apology for “humiliating” north Indians in the past. The BJP leadership in Maharashtra did not engage with its central leadership to resolve the issue and facilitate the Ayodhya tour. Thackeray postponed the Ayodhya visit by saying that he has to undergo surgery on his hip, slated for June 1.
MNS chief, in a veiled attack, took on BJP saying there was a trap laid for us and the parties that otherwise kept fighting among each other (ruling and opposition parties in Maharashtra) ganged up against us.
He questioned if he was asked to apologise for the attack on North Indians, and who will apologise for the attacks on north Indians in Gujarat in 2017.
He also questioned the agitation by independent MP Navneet Rana and her MLA husband over the Hanuman Chalisa row which was raked up by him. BJP had come in support of Ranas during the entire row.
“Everybody gangs up against us, otherwise, they keep fighting with each other. Rana duo announced to recite Hanuman Chalisa outside Matorshree (Uddhav Thackeray’s residence). I had said if mosques use loudspeakers, then play Hanuman Chalisa in front of the mosques. The Ranas woke up and said that they would chant Hanuman Chalisa in front of Matoshree. Is the bungalow a mosque?” Thackeray had said in his speech in Pune.
According to the insiders in BJP and even in the ruling parties, Raj was annoyed because of the withdrawal of the support by the former after extending it initially. “The BJP had extended its support when Raj announced the Hanuman Chalisa agitation on April 2. After he started getting a good response for his newly adopted Hindutva agenda, the BJP realised the potential threat to their Hindutva agenda, it appears that they have decided to disown him. If Raj is saying it was a trap, it is by the BJP,” said a Congress leader requesting anonymity.
The north Indian votes are crucial for the BJP ahead of the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections. If the BJP would have gone soft on Thackeray after Singh’s opposition they could have lost north Indian votes to Congress, which has a following in some pockets in Mumbai. Political analysts said that the BJP weighed the pros and cons of cutting the Marathi votes of Sena and losing north Indian votes for itself.
MNS leader Prakash Mahajan blamed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena, and BJP, to an extent, for laying down the “trap” for his workers and him. Mahajan said that Pawar has connections with Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
“Pawar and that MP have connections due to the boxing federation. He has openly said that [NCP MP and daughter of Pawar] Supriya Sule shares breakfast with him in the Parliament; he is clearly fulfilling duties in return… BJP too has a small hand in the trap. They wanted to put [UP chief minister] Yogi [Adityanath] in a fix. Had we gone to Ayodhya and suppose clashes had erupted, it would have been a blot on the Yogi administration,” Mahajan said.
Shiv Sena on Sunday asked who would have filed cases against the MNS chief’s activists during the Ayodhya tour. “Who stopped you from going to Ayodhya? Here, the BJP is supporting you and the BJP is in power in Uttar Pradesh. Who would have filed cases in Uttar Pradesh during Raj Thackeray’s Ayodhya? Who would have filed cases against the BJP sponsored tour? His (MNS chief) statement is very funny,” Raut said while speaking to reporters in Mumbai.
Congress leader Sachin Sawant said that the “trap” story by Thackeray was serious and only BJP was responsible for it. “Raj Thackeray mentioned a very serious story about the Ayodhya trap today, but the planner of this was BJP, and the people of Maharashtra are aware of this. Raj Thackeray said that had they gone to Ayodhya, the plot was to trap his workers in legal tangles, but Uttar Pradesh is governed by BJP. So in essence he means that the BJP government would have jailed MNS workers in UP,” Sawant said.
Maharashtra BJP’s vice president Madhav Bhandari said, “Raj’s statement is out of the misconception about himself. BJP has nothing to do with the so-called trap or the agitation by Ranas. BJP MP Brij Bhushan Singh sought an apology for Raj’s statements against Ayodhya and Ram Janmabhoomi in 2019. The parties in Maharashtra are supporting Raj to damage BJP out of fear of losing badly in the forthcoming local body polls.”
Political analyst Surendra Jondhale said that the Maharashtra BJP leadership did not expect such massive opposition to Thackeray in UP. “The statement made by Raj Thackeray was a politically infantile one. Now he seems to be on a retreat and is distancing himself from BJP. He must have realized that the BJP used him. At the same time, Raj is difficult political baggage. The reaction from UP was strong. As BJP was seen close to MNS, Devendra Fadnavis addressed a rally for North Indian voters [on May 15]. They can’t lose votes from north Indians,” Jondhale said.
On the MNS chief’s criticism of destroying party founder Bal Thackeray’s credibility by Shiv Sena, Raut said, “Shiv Sena, Maharashtra and the country know what the credibility of Balasaheb is. They should talk about themselves and their party. Balasaheb Thackeray’s Shiv Sena has been working in Maharashtra for 50 years.”
“Raj Thackeray is talking about Sambhajinagar, which has been renamed by Balasaheb Thackeray. Now, it needs to be approved on paper. The Centre has a proposal in this regard and it will be approved,” Raut added.
