Mumbai: The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is in trouble again. After the Samajwadi Party led by Abu Azmi decided to part ways with the coalition following the Shiv Sena (UBT) applauding the demolition of Babri masjid, the All India Ulema Board, an omnibus organisation of prominent Ulemas, has urged the Congress and the NCP (Sharad Pawar) to sever ties with the saffron party.
The SP had taken strong objection to a recent social media post of Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Milind Narvekar, who is a close aide of Uddhav Thackeray, in which he quoted Bal Thackeray taking pride in the demolition of the controversial Babri masjid.
Leader of SP and MLA Abu Azmi said his party cannot be a part of MVA whose member, Shiv Sena (UBT), publicly defended the demolition of the masjid in Ayodhya. The SP, however, continues to be a part of the INDIA Alliance.
On Saturday, the general secretary of the All India Ulema Board Allama Bunai Hasani urged the leadership of the Congress and the NCP (Sharad Pawar) to snap ties with the Shiv Sena (UBT). Hasani noted that the party led by Uddhav Thackeray had on December 6 put up several hoardings and posters on December 6 defending the demolition.
December 6 marks the anniversary of the demolition. Several Muslim leaders of the Congress like Amin Patel and Arif Naseem Khan had taken strong objection to Narvekar’s X post and had taken up the matter with the central leadership of their party.
Hasani claimed that 20 MLAs of the Shiv Sena (UBT) were elected in the recent polls because of the support of Muslims. He said the community made a big mistake in trusting the Shiv Sena (UBT) despite its anti-Muslim stance in the past. Muslim voters had backed Shiv Sena (UBT) in a big way in the Lok Sabha polls also.
During the assembly election campaign, the BJP had repeatedly accused the Shiv Sena (UBT) of appeasing Muslims. It noted that Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs had absented themselves when the Wakf (amendment) Bill was introduced in Parliament.
It alleged that Uddhav Thackeray did not refer to his father Bal Thackeray as Hinduhriday Samrat in his election speeches. The BJP had said in its desperation to get Muslim votes the Shiv Sena (UBT) was kneeling before Muslims.
The BJP also pointed out that the Karnataka government led by the Congress had decided to remove a portrait of Hindutva icon Veer Savarkar from the state legislature building, but Uddhav Thackeray was silent about it.
In a bid to undo the damage to its pro-Hindu image Uddhav Thackeray has been of late taunting the BJP on different issues. One of them is the demolition order taken out by Central Railway against the 80-year-old Hanuman Mandir near Dadar station on the east side.
Stung by the criticism, the BJP got C.R. administration to put on hold the demolition order. Recently, Thackeray slammed PM Modi for “failing to protect the Hindus of Bangladesh.” He sarcastically remarked that the “Vishwaguru is not able to stop the atrocities on the Hindus of the neighbouring nation.”
The Shiv Sena (UBT) had also questioned the BJP’s commitment to the ideology of Veer Savarkar. It noted that the Modi government was yet to confer the Bharat Ratna posthumously on Veer Savarkar.
The revival of its Hindutva agenda by Uddhav Thackeray has made the Congress and the NCP (Sharad Pawar) distinctly uncomfortable. These two parties feel that their secular credentials are being diluted because of their continued association with Thackeray.
It appears that the Shiv Sena (UBT) is readying itself to opt out of the MVA so that it can contest the elections to the BMC on its own. The polls are likely to be held early next year after the Supreme Court delivers its verdict on the reconstitution of electoral wards in Mumbai. These polls are crucial for the Shiv Sena (UBT) since a rout in the civic polls will deliver a body blow to the organisation.
