New Delhi, March 11 BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders on Wednesday of abandoning the Hindutva ideology and the legacy of Balasaheb Thackeray in pursuit of power and opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He asserted that Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is the one carrying forward the party founder's legacy.
"They are sacrificing ideology only for the attainment of power and only for opposing Modi ji," Dubey told reporters inside the Parliament complex.
"Who is the real strength of Shiv Sena – Uddhav Thackeray's or Eknath Shinde's? Balasaheb Thackeray is the strength of both of them. But Eknath Shinde is the one carrying forward Balasaheb Thackeray's legacy. He is following in the footsteps of Balasaheb, carrying the flag of Hindutva, and is part of the BJP-led government," he said.
Dubey alleged that Uddhav Thackeray has allied with the Congress, whom Balasaheb never approved of, and is being guided by Sanjay Raut and Arvind Sawant, who he claimed have nothing to do with Hindutva.
"Uddhav Thackeray formed a government with those very people. And who have become his advisers – Sanjay Raut and Arvind Sawant?
"These are people who have nothing to do with Hindutva. Their only aim is to gain power," he said.
Referring to a question raised in Parliament by Sawant regarding the cancellation of Balasaheb Thackeray's gun licence, Dubey said the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader had raised the issue without proper knowledge of "history" or "geography".
"Yesterday I said this in Parliament that Shiv Sena's Arvind Sawant has no knowledge of history or geography. In 1969, shots were fired at Balasaheb Thackeray's wife, Meenatai Thackeray, who is revered like a deity," he said.
Dubey added that the incident occurred when Thackeray held no elected office and the Shiv Sena was not yet a major political force. He alleged that the developments were part of a political conspiracy by the Congress against the Shiv Sena founder.
"A question was raised in Parliament about how his revolver licence was cancelled. At that time, he was neither an MP nor an MLA, and the Shiv Sena was not a very big party either.
"Later, when he came to know about the entire conspiracy around 1976-77 and realised that the Congress had targeted him, Balasaheb delivered a very powerful speech saying that he would prefer to die rather than compromise and become an ally of Indira Gandhi or the Congress," Dubey said.
