Mumbai/Nagpur: Uddhav Thackeray, former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena Chief, Wednesday cited the brutal cases of Ankita Bhandari and Bilkis Bano and called RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s call for women empowerment a sham.
Addressing RSS Swayamsevaks on the customary Vijayadashami celebration in Nagpur Wednesday Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Chief Mohan Bhagwat pointed out that women, who are regarded as "jagat janani (mother of the universe)", but at home they are treated as "slaves".
"The empowerment of women should begin at home and they should be given their rightful place in the society", he said.
Uddhav Thackeray, once an ally of BJP and RSS, while addressing a mammoth rally of Shiv Sainiks on the occasion of Dussehra at Shivaji Park in Mumbai, however accused the two of indulging in blatant double standard and hypocrisy.
“Today we heard RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat calling for women empowerment. This is when we see crimes against women unabated in the country”, he said.
“Just recently we have seen the brutal murder of a young girl, Ankita Bhandari, by a BJP leader’s son at a resort in Uttarakhand because she had refused to become a sex slave”, he said.
Detailing the brutal murder and rape of the family members of Bilkis Bano during 2002 Gujarat riots, Thackeray said:
“Bilkis Bano was pregnant when she was raped, and her family members were raped and murdered in front her. The same rapists and murderers are now freed from jail and being publicly felicitated.”
“This is the brutal reality in the country as of today and you are talking about women empowerment”, he said.
Training guns on the BJP and its central leaders, he referred to J.P. Nadda's recent statement on how all Opposition parties are decaying and warned that the country is veering towards a single-party autocracy, a dictatorship with a return to slavery.
Reiterating the understanding with Amit Shah (post-2019 Assembly elections), Thackeray said that "the BJP backstabbed us, so I formed the MVA to teach them a lesson", but added that he had left only the BJP, not the Hindutva propounded by Balasaheb, as alleged by the saffron camp, and asked:
"Why didn't these traitors raise their voice then?"
Referring to RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat's recent visit to a mosque in Delhi where a Muslim community leader referred to him as 'Rashtra Pita', Thackeray asked whether he had left Hindutva.
He also took jibes at Fadnavis and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the 'uninvited trip to eat cake with Nawaz Sharif' (ex-PM of Pakistan), at Shah for keeping busy devising strategies to unseat opposition-ruled state governments and dared the BJP to get back the Indian territories usurped by Pakistan and China, among other issues.
Addressing the party's signature annual Dussehra rally Uddhav also slammed Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who masterminded the rebellion of 40 party MLAs, calling him traitor and opportunist.
"The tradition is to burn an effigy of the 10-headed demon king Ravana. But this year, the Ravana is different, with 50 mouths... We have a 'dhokhasur' (traitor), 'khokhasur', (slang for crores of rupees), a 'katappa'... Your ministerial posts may go away, but the blot of 'traitor' will remain permanently on your faces, it can never be erased," Thackeray said, targeting Shinde, who had rebelled to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in June.
He also slammed Shinde for ignoring late Thane Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe for 20 years, and now suddenly resurrecting him for their political gains.
Thackeray accused the Shinde government and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP of threatening Shiv Sainiks right up to the village level elections, forcing them to join their group, or 'face cases', but said that Balasaheb Thackeray's Sainiks will not tolerate any injustice done to them.
During his speech, punctuated with several cheers and roars from the crowd, Thackeray said soon this (Shinde-Fadnavis) regime would complete 100 days in power, of which "90 days were spent in Delhi", referring to the CM's frequent trips to the national capital.
Urging Shiv Sainiks to have faith in Balasaheb's Sena, repose confidence in him, and prepare to vanquish the traitors in every elections, Thackeray vowed that the party will rise again and a Sainik will again become the state CM, praising the crowd that had come 'voluntarily' and not 'paid' to come.
Thanking the crowd for turning up in large numbers, Thackeray bowed in acknowledgement, and assured that with people's support, he would conquer 'Mahishasura' and bring a Sainik back as the CM soon.
Meanwhile, Eknath Shinde addressed a counter rally at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai, accusing his former mentor of compromising with the "Hindutva ideology" for the sake of power.
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