BJP’s patriotism, Hindutva a sham: Shiv Sena(UBT) in ‘Saamana’

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the BJP, claiming that its patriotism and Hindutva were nothing but a “sham”, resembling the “descendants of Ravana”.

“While Ravana may be considered vicious by the BJP, the text reminds the Hindu community that he was not a hypocritical Hindu and did not rob the donation boxes of Ram temples like the BJP,” the party said.

The Thackeray camp, in an editorial in the party’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, said if no one feels regret or grief after seeing Lord Ram looted, “the nation’s land stolen, and democracy and the Constitution plundered — and if people still believe this is true politics — then even a 13th avatar of Vishnu will not be able to save this country. This marks the extreme apex of the Kali Yuga, where selfishness, immorality, and corruption have been normalised.”

To substantiate its argument, the Thackeray camp said that while nationwide and global discussions intensify regarding the alleged looting of ‘Ram Dhana’ (donations) from Ayodhya, worrying news has emerged from Arunachal Pradesh, where China has reportedly taken control of several villages. The sentiments of Hindus are being exploited; even Lord Ram has not been spared by thieves, who reportedly enjoy the full protection of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), it said.

Although gold and donations have been stolen from the Ram Mandir, the police are searching everyone except the prime suspects. A similar pattern is visible regarding China. When Sonam Wangchuk exposed that China had intruded and occupied Indian territory in Ladakh, the central ruling dispensation labelled him a traitor and jailed him. Now, China has entered Arunachal Pradesh, stated the editorial.

According to the editorial, the indigenous ‘Nah’ tribal community, living along the border of the Upper Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh, has explicitly stated that China has encroached upon Indian territory. “This land is now under the control of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). China has intruded deep into the Taksing revenue area of Subansiri, violating the international border. Despite local tribal communities repeatedly raising their voices against China’s expansionism on Indian territory, nobody seems concerned about Indian borders or national security,” noted the editorial.

The editorial further observed, “While ‘Bangladeshi infiltrators’ is turned into a major election issue in West Bengal, China’s incursions into Arunachal and Ladakh are tolerated silently. This exposes severe vulnerabilities in India’s defence framework.”

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP have remained tight-lipped about this Chinese land-grabbing.

“While PM Modi is on a foreign tour, China has actively intruded into Arunachal. Even Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has failed to offer an official clarification on the matter. Instead, PM Modi and his associates find satisfaction in stealing the cultivated political ground of opposition parties. Their daily routine involves breaking opposition parties and poaching MLAs and MPs — which they brand as ‘national service’. At the same time, when China steals Indian land, their consciousness of patriotism and Hindutva fails to awaken. Those who speak aggressively against Pakistan and Bangladesh surrender before China’s military might. China previously intruded into the Galwan Valley and killed 20 of our jawans, yet PM Modi did not feel the need to launch any retaliatory operation for this Chinese offence,” noted the Thackeray camp.

The editorial said that now, “even as donation boxes disappear from Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir, the BJP’s ‘fake Hindutvawadis’ shamelessly boast, ‘We are the true custodians of Hindutva’. Even when China occupies Indian land, these same individuals maintain the arrogance to claim, ‘There are no patriots in India besides us’.”

IANS