Uddhav Thackeray replied that he did not need Hindutva lessons from anyone. (Proceedings)
Mumbai:
An acrimonious exchange has broken out between Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari about the reopening of places of worship in the state amid the coronavirus battle. After the governor, in a letter full of sarcasm, questioned whether it had “gone secular”, and also alluded to the controversy Kangana Ranaut.
On Monday, the governor wrote to Uddhav Thackeray “requesting him to immediately announce” the reopening of places of worship with Covid precautions.
“You have been a great devotee of Hindutva. You had publicly manifested your devotion to Lord Rama by visiting Ayodhya after assuming the post of Chief Minister. You had visited the Vitthal Rukmini Mandir in Pandharpur and performed the puja at Ashadhi Ekadashi,” wrote Koshyari. .
“I wonder if they are getting some divine premonition to keep putting off reopening places of worship over and over again or if they have gone ‘secular,’ a term they hated.”
He also reminded the Chief Minister that these venues reopened in Delhi on June 8 and in other cities at the end of June. “There have been no reports of an increase in Covid-19 cases in any of these locations,” the governor said.
He also described as “ironic” that the state government has allowed the opening of bars, restaurants and beaches and “on the other hand, our Gods and Goddesses have been condemned to remain locked up.”
The Chief Minister responded by saying that his Hindutva did not require a certificate from the governor or anyone else. Referring to actress Kangana Ranaut without naming her, Thackeray added that “inviting callers to Mumbai PoK also falls outside his definition of Hindutva.”
Thackeray reminded the governor that reopening temples or delaying it “is not a question of secularism” and questioned whether Koshyari had forgotten his own constitutional oath.
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