‘Pseudo Hindutva’: Shinde Questions Thackeray’s Silence on Wadettiwar’s Remarks on 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks

Eknath Shinde underscored the resilience of India under the leadership of Prime Minister and BJP leader Narendra Modi. (PTI File)

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday called Shiv Sena UBT Chief and former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s silence over the recent remarks made by Congress’s Vijay Wadettiwar on the martyred policemen in the 26/11 attacks “pseudo Hindutva”. Thackeray’s Sena UBT is in an alliance with the Congress, while Shinde, the head of other faction of the Sena, is in an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Speaking in Thane, Shinde said: “The statement by Wadettiwar regarding the martyred policemen and innocent Mumbaikars who lost their lives in the 26/11 attacks is infuriating. Wadettiwar seems to be following the slogan of Rahul Gandhi, who is conducting not ‘Bharat Jodo’ but Bharat todo yatra.”

He further emphasised the longstanding commitment of organisations like the BJP fountainhead Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to nationalistic values, invoking the memory of lawyer and BJP’s Mumbai North-Central candidate Ujjwal Nikam’s pursuit of justice against traitors.

Wadettiwar recently alleged that an RSS-affiliated cop, and not terrorist Ajmal Kasab, killed former state anti-terrorism squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Shinde called the alignment of a Congress leader’s statements with those of Pakistan “unfortunate” and cited “a historical pattern of prioritising political gains over national interests”.

“Nobody can become a Hindu by merely saying ‘I am a Hindu’. If Hindu Hridya Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray were here today, he would have been deeply offended. People will not rest without seeking revenge for this insult,” Shinde said.

Shinde underscored the resilience of India under the leadership of Prime Minister and BJP leader Narendra Modi. He praised Modi’s decisive actions, exemplified by the Balakot surgical strikes, as evidence of India’s resolve against external threats. “It will not be out of place to say that ‘Congress ka Haath Pakistan ke Saath’. When the Congress wins an election, there are fireworks in Pakistan. When India loses a match, firecrackers are burst in Pakistan. Even when the Congress was in power for so many years, it maintained a tight-lipped policy towards Kashmir. While the heads of our jawans were being cut off and taken to Pakistan, the Congress government remained silent. Now Narendra Modi has warned Pakistan,” he said.