Uddhav Thackeray questions BJP over razing of temple on Dadar railway station premises

Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT) president; (right) Chandrashekhar Bawankule, BJP state president

Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray questioned the BJP's notion of Hindutva while talking about the impending removal of a Hanuman temple from the Dadar station premises. According to Central Railway (CR), the shrine is an unauthorised structure that is affecting the movement of commuters and vehicles.

Thackeray shared a notice purportedly served on December 4, 2024, by CR's assistant divisional engineer (works), Byculla, to the Hanuman Mandir trustees and poojari, stating that it was found that "you have encroachment (sic) and constructed unauthorised temple on Railway land at above location (near platform no. 12)."

The notice further reads, "You are hereby called upon to remove the said unauthorised structures/temple situated on the said Railway land and hand over peaceful possession of the said land to the Railway Administration within seven days from the date of receipt of this notice, failing which the railway administration shall be forced to get the same removed as per law at your cost and consequences..."

Addressing a press conference on Friday, Thackeray said the BJP government was out to demolish an 80-year-old temple at Dadar station. "The temple was built by railway porters. The notice, which is with me, says that they [porters] had encroached upon railway land. It is an 80-year-old temple that the government wants demolished. What kind of Hindutva is this? They ask us whether we have given up Hindutva. What have they given up now?" he asked.

Thackeray said he wanted CM Devendra Fadnavis to answer whether the BJP's Hindutva was restricted to elections and why the party that built the Ram Mandir (in Ayodhya) wanted a temple to Ram bhakt Hanuman demolished. "Hindus are not just voters. They have emotions, too. In the first place, the BJP scares the Hindus [by telling them ‘ek hain to safe hain']. What is the definition of BJP's Hindutva?" he said, asking whether Hindu temples were not safe, either in Mumbai or Bangladesh.

Thackeray also targeted PM Narendra Modi, who he said was silent over the destruction of Hindu temples in Bangladesh and the arrest of the head of ISKCON there. "You had stopped the Ukraine war. What will the Union Government do now [as regards the atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh]," he asked the PM.

'Stay within your limits'

The BJP hit back at Thackeray, with Chandrashekhar Bawankule, the party's state president, saying the Sena (UBT) chief should stay within his limits while criticising the PM. "Those who sat together with Congress [in the government] are talking about protecting Hindus. Thackeray's term as the CM proved his fake love for Hindutva," said Bawankule, alleging that the killing of sadhus in Palghar in 2020 was testimony to Thackeray's stand against Hindutva.

He said the BJP has stood rock solid behind the Hindus in Bangladesh. "You acted meekly when the government amended the Citizenship Act. You were scared of the Congress then. You didn't utter a word when the Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge criticised Veer Savarkar and removed his [Savarkar's] image from the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. All this shows your ‘loyalty' towards Hindutva," said Bawankule.