Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), stated on Sunday that a “Godhra-like” catastrophe would occur on the “return journey” of the massive crowd that is anticipated to travel from all across the country to assemble in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, for the dedication of the Ram Temple.
On February 27, 2002, ‘Karsevaks’ (the Sangh Parivar term for volunteers who participated in the Ram temple movement) returning from Ayodhya on the Sabarmati Express were attacked and their train coach set on fire at Godhra station in Gujarat, resulting in several deaths and sparking widespread riots throughout the state.
In Jalgaon, some 400 kilometers away from here, Thackeray said, “It is possible that the government could invite a large number of people for the Ram Temple inauguration in buses and trucks, and on their return journey, an incident similar to that in Godhra may occur.”
Just months before the Lok Sabha elections, in January 2024, the Ram Temple is anticipated to be officially opened.
Thackeray criticized the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party for not having idols for people to look up to and instead using historical figures like Sardar Patel and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
He said that the BJP and the RSS were now attempting to stake a claim to his father, Bal Thackeray.
The Statue of Unity in Gujarat’s Kevadia, which at 182 meters is the tallest such monument in the world, is the only accomplishment that the BJP and RSS can point to. His accomplishments, not the height of the statue, are what important.
According to the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, none of these individuals (from the BJP and RSS) even come close to matching Sardar Patel’s magnificence.
The BJP has often attacked Thackeray for abandoning the principles of Bal Thackeray in order to work with the Congress and NCP to win the position of chief minister after the 2019 Assembly elections.
Since the Shiv Sena split in June of last year, when both sides started claiming to be the rightful heirs to the party founder’s heritage, the assaults have been more vehement.
Both the BJP and the Shiv Sena, headed by Eknath Shinde, claim to be genuine followers of Bal Thackeray’s Hindutva.