Mumbai, Jan 14 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, accusing him of indulging in minority appeasement and abandoning the Hindutva ideology espoused by his father, Balasaheb Thackeray.

Speaking exclusively to IANS ahead of the state civic polls, Fadnavis alleged that slogans in favour of Pakistan were raised and flags were waved at events linked to Thackeray’s camp.

He further claimed that individuals accused in the Mumbai bomb blast case had participated in Thackeray’s rallies and sought votes.

“People from his party go to mosques and promise that loudspeakers will be reinstalled if Uddhav Thackeray returns to power. What kind of signals does this send?” Fadnavis asked.

Reiterating the BJP’s ideological position, the Chief Minister said that his party follows Hindutva in its true spirit. “Our ideology is not hollow. Anyone who believes in our culture and traditions is a Hindu for us, irrespective of who they are,” he told IANS.

Fadnavis asserted that the kind of appeasement politics allegedly being practised by Thackeray would not be tolerated.

“Uddhav Thackeray is doing exactly what Balasaheb Thackeray opposed throughout his life. I believe he has completely renounced Hindutva,” he added.

Commenting on the controversy surrounding references to Khan, Pathan and burqa, Fadnavis blamed the opposition for politicising the issue.

“These are not our issues. The opposition raised them during the municipal elections, and we only responded,” he said.

He claimed that while the BJP has focused on development and delivery of projects, the opposition has attempted to divert attention by raising identity-based issues.

“We have spoken only about development, and we have numerous examples of work done,” he told IANS.

Taking a jibe at Thackeray, Fadnavis announced a reward for anyone who could show a speech by the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader focused on development.

“I had announced a reward of Rs 1,000, which I later increased to Rs 7,000, but no one could come forward to show when Uddhav Thackeray spoke about development,” he said.

The civic polls for 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including the high-stakes Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), will be held on Thursday, with counting of votes scheduled on Friday.

–IANS

skp/uk