A day after the Karnataka government dropped chapters on Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) founder Keshav Baliram Hedgewar and Hindutva icon Vinayak Damodar Savarkar from school textbooks, the Maharashtra BJP slammed the Congress and the Siddaramaiah-headed government for questioned the silence of Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule both spoke on the issue.
“You can remove the chapters on Dr Hedgewar and Veer Savarkar but you cannot remove them from people’s hearts…you can’t remove people who contributed to the freedom movement from the hearts of people,” Fadnavis said.
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Questioning the silence of Thackeray, whose party is an alliance partner in the Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising Congress, Fadnavis said: “Those who are sitting shoulder to shoulder with Congress in the MVA Aghadi, what is your reaction now….do you feel okay about the appeasement of minorities.”
Bawankule asked whether Thackeray now will sit together with Congress. “Thackeray would have to clarify his stand on this issue,” he said, adding that in the elections the Shiv Sena (UBT) along with the BJP would be seeking votes.