Time to awaken Maharashtra Dharma: Shiv Sena(UBT)’s Saamana

Mumbai: Shiv Sena(UBT) in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ editorial on the occasion of the state’s 66th Foundation Day on Thursday launched a blistering attack on the Mahayuti government, blaming it for the loss of identity as an enterprising and advanced place, and calling upon people to remember Maharashtra Dharma.

“Those who are tailgating Delhi have weakened the Sahyadris that always used to be at the front for the aid of the Himalayas. Is the previous strong Maharashtra still there today? If we want to maintain the reputation of Maharashtra, which was built in the minds of the farmers through the sweat and blood of 107 martyrs, the Marathi people will have to fight once again. Maharashtra Dharma will have to be awakened! Today, when Maharashtra Day is being celebrated, the celebration should truly raise the alarm and awaken the Maharashtra religion. But the rulers of Maharashtra should ask themselves whether Maharashtra Dharma is really being followed in this state. What can you expect from those who conspired to weaken Maharashtra’s religion, betrayed and mortgaged Maharashtra’s self-respect on the feet of Delhiites? asked the Thackeray camp in the editorial.

“An enterprising and advanced state was once the identity of Maharashtra. But if Maharashtra is getting the ‘defilement’ of a state of debt and farmer suicides by erasing this ‘bhushan’ (jewel), it is bad. We read the description of Maharashtra in the Maharashtra Gita as ‘Rakat Desha, Kankhar Desha…’. (a rugged land, a tough land). But this glory is limited to poetry and will not last,” said the editorial.

“While Maharashtra’s industries are taking Gujarat away and the unemployed youth of Maharashtra are being deprived of their livelihood, self-respecting rulers who are bowing their heads before Delhi and Gujarat are sitting in power in Maharashtra today. Due to corruption and ‘khoke’ culture, Maharashtra has a debt of Rs 9.50 lakh crore. The farmers have no one left to look after them,” claimed the editorial.

“Basically, this group (the ruling alliance) has forgotten what the Maharashtra Dharma is. What else will happen when power, posts and chairs get a place of honour over Maharashtra’s religion? Betrayal, dishonesty and the distortion of dishonesty that makes the plate dirty never had a place in the Maharashtra religion. But recently, where words like ‘betrayal’ and ‘khoke’ have been given royal recognition in Maharashtra, who would sing the sweetness of the Maharashtra religion? Some people from this state have become Delhi’s enemies by being dishonest with the Maharashtra religion. These home invaders first played tricks on Delhi’s behest and threatened Maharashtra and the trust of the Marathi people. Then, ignoring the honest voice of the Marathi people and the public opinion of Maharashtra, they installed an “artificial” government on Maharashtra’s neck that dances to the tune of Delhi and is not wanted by the people on the basis of an artificial majority. It was a blow to Maharashtra’s self-respect. This was a betrayal of Maharashtra, and the Marathi people should never let it be forgotten,” alleged the Thackeray camp.

The Shiv Sena(UBT) said in the editorial that on the occasion of Maharashtra Day, the Marathi people should resolve how to settle accounts with the traitors who are dishonest with Maharashtra and the Delhiites who are using them. “That is Maharashtra Dharma! The Maharashtra Day is being celebrated today, while the country is on the brink of war. There has never been a time when Maharashtra did not come forward to deal with any crisis. But where is that strong, resilient Maharashtra today? Of course, even today, some people realise that they are Sahyadris themselves. They pretend to go to the help of the Himalayas, but in reality they reach there only to bow down before Delhi. They have made Maharashtra a ‘foot-wiping’ on the way to Delhi. This is the misfortune of this Maratha state.”

“After the Pahalgam attack, Maharashtra witnessed a shameful battle of credit between the ruling parties in Maharashtra to bring back the tourists from Kashmir. Again, some made a false claim that they were bringing back the tourists by spending money from their own pockets. However, it was exposed that the tourists were brought back at the government’s expense, and the mouths of the gossipers were shut. Six tourists from Maharashtra died in the Pahalgam attack. Therefore, when Maharashtra and the country were in mourning, the struggle for credit within the government in Maharashtra was the height of shamelessness.”

The editorial further said the group (ruling alliance) claims to use the power they gained through dishonesty for the welfare of the people. Not even that. “Before the elections, they announced the Ladki Bahin Yojana and offered women Rs 1,500 per month. The same rulers came to power again by promising, ‘If we are re-elected, we will give Rs 2100 per month to our beloved sisters’. However, now there are moves to reduce this amount from Rs 2100 to Rs 500. Moreover, after the elections, there was a huge reduction in the number of beloved sisters. This is a betrayal by the brothers against their sisters. This betrayal has no place in the Maharashtra religion. Recently, attempts were made in Maharashtra to dig up the grave of Aurangzeb, with whom Chhatrapati Shivaji fought all his life and whose tomb had to be built in Maharashtra itself, and to erase the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji and the bravery of the Marathas. The place where Aurangzeb was buried is a symbol of Shivaji’s bravery. But the traitors in Maharashtra in power hatched a plot to destroy this history of Shivaji through the grave. This was also a betrayal of Maharashtra Dharma,” said the editorial.

“The same group (ruling alliance), which had forgotten Maharashtra Dharma, issued the Tughlaq edict to force the Hindi language in Maharashtra. Although this decision has now been withdrawn due to the anger and resentment of the Marathi people, this revealed the aversion of the rulers towards Marathi,” said the editorial.

IANS