New Delhi: Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray attacked the BJP on Sunday, claiming that if his father and party founder Balasaheb Thackeray had not "saved" Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the then-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee asked him to follow "raj dharma," Modi wouldn't have come this far.
He said that for 25 to 30 years, the Shiv Sena defended a political leadership but the BJP did not want the Sena or the Akali Dal, two former members of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), PTI reported.
"For 25-30 years, Shiv Sena protected a political friendship. Hindutva meant warmth amongst us. They (BJP) didn't want anyone. They didn't want Akali Dal... Shiv Sena," he told a gathering of north Indians in Mumbai.
"It was Balasaheb Thackeray who saved the current prime minister when Atalji (then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee) wanted him to honour 'Rajdharma'. But Balasaheb intervened saying it was the need of the hour. Had that not happened he (Modi) wouldn't have reached here," Thackeray said.
He was apparently referring to Vajpayee's remarks asking then Gujarat chief minister Modi to follow "raj dharma" after the 2002 Gujarat communal riots.
According to PTI, Thackeray accused the BJP of creating a rift among Hindus. He further stated that the Shiv Sena founder never nurtured hatred.
"I fell out with BJP but I never abandoned Hindutva. The BJP is not Hindutva. Uttar Bharatiyas want answers on what Hindutva is. Hating each other is not Hindutva," he told a gathering of north Indians in Mumbai.
"Being Hindu never meant being Marathi and hating north Indians. Balasaheb was against those who were anti-India irrespective of their religion," he added.
Thackeray said he walked out of the alliance with BJP to protect his dignity and joined hands with the NCP and Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) after the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls.
".....Otherwise I would have been a slave with a belt around my neck just like some of my people have now become," he said in an apparent reference to the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs who joined the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction of the party.
Thackeray said he becomes a victim of the smear campaign whenever he meets north Indians or Muslims and questioned are raised on his Hindutva.
"My meeting with you has been criticised. If I meet Muslims, it is said I have given up Hindutva. When PM Narendra Modi came to Mumbai two days back, whose kitchen did he go to? If I had done that I would have been called anti-Hindu. But if the prime minister does that then it is said he has a big heart. I want to make it clear we have nothing against the Bohra community. They are with us," he added.
(With inputs from PTI)