Reiterating his demand for Bharat Ratna for Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday advised both the BJP and the Congress to stop talking about Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Savarkar.
“BJP and Congress should now stop talking about Pandit Nehru and Savarkar. Now let’s talk about the future. Those two have done what they want in the past. Both sides should stop talking about them now,” Thackeray said at a press conference in Nagpur.
Thackeray said his advice is for both parties. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi keeps talking about Pandit Nehru and Congress Savarkar. Both should focus on current and future issues,” he said.
During the debate on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi mentioned Savarkar, alleging that the Hindutva ideology had nothing Indian in the Constitution.
There is one family that causes the most damage to the constitution. They spared no effort to weaken it. It started with the first Prime Minister Pandit Nehru and has been running in the family ever since,” Modi said in his reply.
The Thackerays are known to be at odds with the Congress on this issue and have always praised Savarkar. This is the first time that Thackeray has advised the Congress and the BJP too to fight over history and focus on the future.
Both Uddhav and Aditya Thackeray met CM Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday. It is said that the meeting will express happiness for Fadnavis taking charge. Thackeray said he felt sorry for NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal who was denied cabinet membership. “We have received calls from people who are upset. Ultimately, experience is the best teacher. Let them learn from it first, we will see about them in the near future,” he said.
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