BJP threw off ‘Hindutva ladder’ after coming to power, says Shiv Sena

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Tuesday lashed out at the BJP, saying it came to power by climbing on the "Hindutva ladder" but threw it off once its purpose was met.

Accusing the BJP of "stabbing Hindutva in the back" by breaking alliance with the Shiv Sena prior to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said not a single promise made to Hindus has been fulfilled till now.

The Congress at least flattered Muslims for so many years, while the BJP, instead of "cajoling" Hindus, is bent on making them secular, it said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

The Hindus today are disappointed, the Sena claimed, alleging that the BJP used Hindus the way the Congress used Muslims. Not a single promise made to Hindus has been fulfilled by the BJP, be it the Ram temple or the Uniform Civil Code. All of this was on the BJP's aggressive Hindutva agenda, but the aggressiveness which was there before coming to power, deflated later, it said.

"The BJP has become like the Congress. At least the Congress flattered Muslims for so many years. The BJP, far from cajoling, is making Hindus secular. The country's journey from the Congress to the Congress has begun," said the Sena, which is an ally of the BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra.

Slamming RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for his remarks that Hindus have no aspiration of dominance, the Sena said it was expected of him to speak about the current situation in the country, where Hindus are being dubbed terrorists and attempts are being made to finish them.

Addressing a gathering at the second World Hindu Congress in Chicago last Friday, Bhagwat had said Hindus have no aspiration of dominance and asked them to come together and organise themselves.

Narendra Modi became the prime minister only because Hindus came together and got aggressive, but what was gained by coming together and this aggressiveness, the Sena asked.

"Hindutva was stabbed in the back by breaking alliance with the Shiv Sena. And, those who aggressively spoke for Hindutva and for the country were termed enemies by the BJP," it said.

"It (BJP) came to power climbing the ladder of Hindutva and once its work was done, the ladder was thrown away. The fake Hindutvavadis in power today aspire to silence the voice of an aggressive Hindutva and finish Hindus in their own country by terming them terrorists," it said.

Bhagwat was expected to speak about all of this in Chicago, the Sena said, and asked why there was no place for the party in the World Hindu Congress when it openly and aggressively talks about Hindutva. There may be other organisations like the Sena working for the cause of Hindutva according to their capabilities. They too should have been given a place in the World Hindu Congress, it opined.

"If Hinduism has to come together, why this untouchability?" the Marathi daily quipped.

The Sena claimed that Hindutva was finished from Nepal while India's prime minister remained "silent", and that the Himalayan country became a "den" of China and Pakistan.

"Far from being aggressive in Kashmir, the people of the 'Hindu rashtra' fell in love with the anti-Hindu and Pakistan supporter Mehbooba Mufti and betrayed Kashmiri Pandits. When all of this was happening, we expected a sharp reaction from Mohan Bhagwat," the editorial said.