BJP insulting Savarkar with citizenship law: Uddhav Thackeray

'BJP keeps talking of Savarkar, however they don’t follow his ideals'

Fadnavis, Uddhav tour rain-hit areas in Maharashtra amid impasse over govt [File] Devendra Fadnavis; Uddhav Thackeray | Janak Bhat

Hitting out against the BJP over the Citizenship Amendment Act, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray criticised former ally BJP over allowing persecuted minorities into India under the new citizenship law, saying it was an "insult" to Savarkar who sought to bring land from the Sindhu river to Kanyakumari under "one country". He said the Citizenship Amendment Act is against the principles of Savarkar—a proponent of Hindu rashtravad (nationalism) who is revered by the Sangh Parivar.

“They keep talking of Savarkar, however they don’t follow his ideals. Savarkar had spoken of Akhand Hindustan which incorporated Pakistan and Bangladesh in our country. We had formed an alliance (with the BJP) for this reason, this was our dream, this is what we wanted,” the chief minister said after protesting BJP MLAs created a ruckus in the Maharashtra assembly demanding an apology from former Congress president Rahul Gandhi for remarks against Savarkar. 

Thackeray's statements come in the backdrop of nationwide protests, led by students, against the Centre on the recently passsed Citizenship Amendment Act. It is to be noted that the Shiv Sena voted in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha. However, it remained absent in the Rajya Sabha, citing several unanswered questions on the bill. 

"We are no doubt always Hindutva-vadi. I had said so in the Vidhan Sabha. We have not done any (ideological) conversion. We were Hindus even when a party had snapped ties with us in 2014 (ahead of the assembly elections)," Thackeray said. 

Thackeray also said that Sena's stand on Savarkar remains unchanged. Rahul Gandhi's "Rahul Savarkar" remarks had evoked stern reaction from the Shiv Sena, who joined hands with the Congress and NCP to form a government in Maharashtra last month. "Veer Savarkar is an idol of whole country and not just Maharashtra. The name Savarkar denotes pride about nation and self. Like Nehru and Gandhi, Savarkar too sacrificed his life for the country. Every such idol must be revered. There is no compromise on this," Sena leader Sanjay Raut had tweeted inr response to Rahul's jibe at Savarkar.