Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Tuesday hit out at former ally BJP, claiming its Hindutva is selfish and hollow and that the saffron party’s ”neo-Hindutvavadis” were creating a pre-partition like atmosphere in the country. An editorial in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ also claimed that the BJP has nothing to do with Hindutva and has no other agenda than creating a rift between Hindus and Muslims. Taking a dig at the BJP, the Marathi daily said if by playing ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ (Hindu devotional hymn) the Chinese soldiers in the Galwan Valley are going to step back, then it is fine. Will the issue of addressing problems of Kashmiri Pandits, unemployment be resolved by playing ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ outside mosques, the party asked. “It is clear that the BJP’s Hindutva is selfish and hollow. The doubt, that to win polls these people have a role to orchestrate riots and create rift, is getting stronger,” it said. ”The BJP’s neo-Hindutvavadis are creating a pre-partition like atmosphere,” it claimed, referring to the hijab controversy and the demand by some right-wing groups not to allow Muslims to do business outside temples.
Notably, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray recently demanded that loudspeakers at mosques be shut down and said if this is not stopped, ”there will be speakers outside mosques playing ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ at higher volume”.
Referring to the recent clashes between student groups at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi allegedly over serving of non-vegetarian food in the mess on Ram Navami on Sunday, the Sena editorial said the BJP is trying to divert attention from issues like inflation and unemployment. “Religion is an opium and it is not evident in India everyday. The violence in the JNU took place due to non-vegetarian food (being served), but the BJP is maligning Lord Ram’s name,” it claimed.
