Uddhav Thackeray slams BJP over Waqf Amendment Bill

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray addresses a press conference in Mumbai, on Thursday. Pic/PTI

Passing of the Waqf Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha has triggered a fresh row between friends turned foes - Shiv Sena (UBT) and the BJP in Maharashtra. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray has criticised the BJP for adopting "double standards" when it comes to their stance on the Muslim community.

A day after Waqf Amendment Bill was approved by the Lok Sabha, Thackeray said that while some BJP leaders say "Masjid mein guske marenge (we will enter mosques and strike), on the other hand, the same party members distribute ‘Saugat-e-Modi' kits to community members on the occasion of Eid. First they (BJP) should decide what is their actual stand on the community," Thackeray said while addressing the media in Mumbai on Thursday.

The BJP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena leaders have been hard critics of Thackeray and his party over increasing proximity towards the Muslim community. In fact, the friends turned foes (BJP and Shinde Sena) have always claimed that UBT has abandoned Hindutva. "Almost all BJP leaders during the discussion on the Waqf Amendment Bill, categorically mentioned that the Bill has been introduced for welfare of Muslim women, children and poor members of the community. Is the BJP appeasing Muslims and has it abandoned Hindutva? Will traitors (read as Shinde Sena leaders) now slam the BJP for their stance on the community?" Thackeray asked.

Clarifying the party's stand to oppose the Bill, late Balasaheb Tahckeray's son Uddhav claimed that Sena (UBT) is not against the amendment of the Bill, but intentions of the BJP for introducing it. "We (Sena UBT) feel that the amendment is done with an eye on the land bank of Waqf; and that too, probably to part away with a land parcel for their (BJP) industrialist friends," Thackeray added.

The former chief minister of Maharashtra, Thackeray even stated that his father - the late Balasaheb Thackeray - was never against all the Muslims. "There are patriotic Muslims in India and we (read as Balasheab and then undivided Shiv Sena) are proud of them," Uddhav mentioned while recollecting memories of his father and association of the party with leaders (undivided Shiv Sena) from the Muslim community.

The other side

Immediately after Uddhav's press briefing, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Ekanth Shinde slammed UBT leaders for opposing the Bill. "Uddhav Thackeray and his party are confused," Shinde reacted to the development. Meanwhile, BJP state president Chandrashekar Bawankule claimed that Uddhav Thackeray and his party members opposed the Bill with an eye on a particular vote bank. "For the BMC polls, Shiv Sena (UBT) is eyeing the vote bank of a particular community," Bawankule, who holds the revenue minister portfolio in the Mahayuti government said. Even the BJP, on its ‘X' handle, slammed the UBT for its stand on the Bill.