Raj Thackeray cancels awaited Ayodhya visit

‘Uddhav didn’t work for Hinduvtva or Marathi pride’

Had I insisted on going to Ayodhya, party office bearers and workers would have been booked in fake cases and would have been implicated in legal issues… To avoid this, I have deferred Ayodhya visit.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday alleged that certain political leaders from Maharashtra, who felt threatened by his agitation against loudspeakers, provided all the help to Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. He also admitted that he cancelled his Ayodhya visit to avoid cases against his supporters. The MNS chief also attacked his cousin and chief minister Uddhav Thackeray saying that the Shiv Sena leader has never participated in any agitation.

The MNS leader said that some people were happy, while some were unhappy over his Ayodhya visit. “I had announced the date of Ayodhya visit. I got to know various things about Opposition to my visit. Then I realised it was a trap. The resources were provided from Maharashtra in UP to oppose this visit,” he said.

“Had I insisted on going to Ayodhya, party office bearers and workers would have been booked

Raj Thackeray, MNS supremo

in fake cases and would have been implicated in legal issues… To avoid this, I have deferred Ayodhya visit (for time being),” Raj added.

BJP MP from Kaiserganj Lok Sabha constituency in UP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh had opposed the MNS chief ’s proposed visit to Ayodhya on June 5 unless the latter would tender an apology to north Indians.

The MNS chief also ridiculed Uddhav Thackeray for trying to portray his Hindutva as “real”. “Are you selling washing powder? Meri shirt uski shirt se safed. (My shirt is brighter than his shirt). Be it Hindutva or Marathi pride, show me one case against Uddhav Thackeray for playing any role in any struggle,” he said.

The MNS chief reiterated his demand to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring in a Uniform Civil Code at the earliest. He also asked to rename Aurangabad to Sambhajinagar.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut slammed Raj Thackeray’s claim that he had deferred his visit to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh as there was ploy to trap his party workers in legal issues, and said such comments were made out of frustration. “Who can stop you from going to Ayodhya? What conspiracy can be there? It was a BJP-sponsored visit,” he said.