Nashik, April 16 : Shiv Sena UBT President Uddhav Thackeray said on Wednesday that he has left the BJP and not Hindutva, adding, 'Even if I die, I will not abandon Hindutva.'

In his address at the Nirdhar Shibir, Thackeray slammed the BJP for its Saugat-e-Modi initiative in which gifts were distributed to 32 lakh Muslims from Bihar in the run-up to the upcoming Assembly elections and asked the latter, 'Where did your Hindutva go at that time'? 'That is, BJP's policy of 'Batenge To Katenge' (will be slaughtered if divided') in Maharashtra, but in Bihar it is 'Batenge To Bachenge' (if you distribute sweets, you will survive),' he claimed. He further said that when he was the Maharashtra chief minister, he did not discriminate, and because of that, Muslims supported him, and they (the BJP) got scared.

'BJP is a party with a fake narrative. In Bihar, they went with Nitish Kumar. In Andhra, they went with Chandrababu. That is why we have left the BJP, not Hindutva,' he claimed. Thackeray strongly defended Shiv Sena's move to oppose the Waqf Amendment Bill, saying that it had nothing to do with Hindus.

'The AIADMK from Tamil Nadu opposed the Waqf Amendment Bill. But within two days, Amit Shah went to Tamil Nadu and formed an alliance with them. Because MK Stalin is sitting in there with a firm grip. The BJP people were sitting with Chandrababu, Nitish Kumar, and Mehbooba Mufti. Their Hindutva is rotten. We did not go to Pakistan and cut Nawaz Sharif's birthday cake,' he said.

'Today, those who are teaching us Hindutva have come out. PM Modi says that Congress should make a Muslim president. State Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal said that the RSS should make a leader from the Dalit community as the Sarsanghchalak. They should do it. The RSS is completing 100 years in the coming year. The Congress is completing 125 years. Make a list of the Sarsanghchalaks and Congress chiefs of the Sangh so far. Find out who was a Dalit and who was a Muslim and put it in front of the people," said Thackeray while taking a swipe at the BJP.

Thackeray referred to the statement made at the Raigad fort function by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who said, 'Don't restrict Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to Maharashtra, but his story should be told to everyone across the country'. 'Amit Shah said that Shivaji Maharaj should not be restricted to Maharashtra. On the contrary, his fame has reached every corner of the world,' he said. He demanded that 'if there is real respect for Shivaji Maharaj, then declare Shivaji Jayanti (birth anniversary of the Maratha warrior) as a holiday across the country.'

The Shiv Sena UBT leader also demanded that the grand memorial of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, which is currently proposed in the Arabian Sea, should be developed in the Raj Bhavan (the official residence of the Maharashtra Governor).

'No one can be greater than Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. When it comes to the Governor, the Supreme Court itself has criticised the Tamil Nadu Governor. You have seen it in our time, too. How did BS Koshyari (Former state Governor) behave? What kind of pomp? If the person occupying that position does not respect the position of Governor, then the Supreme Court has shown respect for that position. Shift the Governor somewhere else and build a big memorial telling the glorious history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Raj Bhavan. Give one bungalow to the Governor and build a memorial in Raj Bhavan,' he said.

/IANS