'Gaumutradhari Hindutva': Here Comes The Gaumutra Jibe Again, But This Time From Shiv Sena UBT's Uddhav Thackeray

Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief, has strongly criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for their criticism of his faction's alliance with the Congress.

He has accused the RSS-BJP of practicing a version of Hindutva that he refers to as "Gaumutradhari Hindutva".

On Sunday, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) demonstrated their solidarity and power in Nagpur amidst rumors of a potential split within the opposition coalition.

During the event, Thackeray emphasised that for the Shiv Sena (UBT), Hindutva is centered around nationalism and a willingness to sacrifice for the nation.

"Every time I am accused that I went with Congress and left Hindutva, is there no Hindu in Congress? There (RSS-BJP) Hindutva is 'Gaumutradhari Hindutva'.

"They sprinkled cow-urine at the place in Sambhajinagar where we conducted our public meeting. They should have drunk some cow urine, they would have become wiser, our Hindutva is about nationalism," said Thackeray in the rally.

“On one hand they read Hanuman Chalisa and on the other hand, they go to mosques and listen Qawali, is this their Hindutva? They go and have ‘Mann ki Baat’ in Urdu in UP, is this their Hindutva? Our Hindutva is about sacrificing life for the country,” he added, reported ANI.

Uddhav Thackeray criticised the current ruling BJP government at the Center, accusing them of undermining democratic values. He also made a veiled remark about the Adani Group, suggesting that the BJP uses democracy to benefit its favored associates.

“When Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asked questions about the functioning of the Modi government, his membership of Lok Sabha was cancelled and when Kejriwal questioned Modi on several issues, he may be put behind the bars any time,” said Thackeray.

There have been two major instances in the recent past when the MVA alliance took opposite stand, post which NCP chief Sharad Pawar urged the alliance to speak in one voice in public.

Earlier this month, the Nationalist Congress Party leader had expressed his disapproval of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani issue, unlike the Congress party, which supported it.

Meanwhile, on the Savarkar issue, Shiv Sena and NCP demanded a prestigious civil award, Bharat Ratna, for him. However, Congress accused him of apologising and being loyal to the British.