Mumbai: Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Monday asked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership to imbibe the true teachings of Chanakya and use their “neeti” for the country’s welfare.
In an interview to Saamana’s executive editor and Sena MP Sanjay Raut, Thackeray said, “Have the modern Chanakyas really imbibed his teachings? The basic difference is whether these modern Chanakyas use their neeti for the country or for their party. You don’t need Chanakya neeti to spread your own party. Chanakya stood behind Chandragupta in extremely adverse conditions and built up a nation-state.”
Warning people of the ‘Bhed-neeti’ allegedly practised by the BJP for electoral gains, the Sena chief said, “Hindus should think if the present Chanakyas are trying to divide them for their narrow vote banks. People need to think if commercialisation of politics is responsible for the polarisation of society at present. People need to understand they can’t buy love and care for money.”
Thackeray also criticised the version of Hindutva being practised in the country at present. “I don’t accept the Hindutva that is being adhered to in the country for the last three-four years. That is not our idea of Hindutva. Our women are unsafe today and you are protecting cows. You can’t target people for their eating preferences,” he said.
The Sena chief added, “Today’s Hindutva is fake. We should be ashamed that India is the one of the most unsafe countries for women. People are being lynched over eating preferences. Protecting our cows when women are unsafe is fake Hindutva,” he said.
Miffed that those criticising government policies were being labelled as ‘traitors’, he asked, “What do you think? Only you are patriots and we are traitors?”
Talking about the no-confidence motion in Parliament against the Narendra Modi government, Thackeray said it was the first time in the history of the country that a no-trust vote was brought in by a “friend”. “Look at who proposed the motion. It was brought in by the TDP. Who is TDP? It was an ally of the BJP. The question is, why do friends feel that way?” he asked.
When questioned why the Sena abstained from voting during the motion, he said, “Who should show trust in whom? Do we go with the Opposition? Then what have the opposition parties done? Did they talk on the issues that affect people? Shiv Sena was the only party to talk against demonetisation within the first three days. Today, Opposition talks of the same issues. At that time, all those who spoke against it were traitors. We were labelled as the first traitors.”
Responding to a question on why the Shiv Sena behaved like an opposition party despite being in power, Thackeray said, “People know what the opposition parties are doing. We have supported openly, we have opposed openly. We act as a control on the government. We are friends of the people of the country. If some decision is harmful for the people, we will talk against it. I have never done politics of revenge. We considered the BJP friends, for Hindutva and for the party.”
The Sena chief reiterated that he would continue to oppose the bullet train and Nanar petrochemical refinery project in Maharashtra. “It will be wise if the government starts finding an alternative space for the refinery because we will not let it happen in coastal Maharashtra at any cost,” he warned.
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