Mumbai, March 18 - Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray has slammed the BJP for raising a '400-year-old issue'. He said, 'Demolish Aurangzeb's tomb immediately but when this is happening, call Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu.'
Observers say Uddhav Thackeray is hinting at the importance of Muslim votes for Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Naidu and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Thackeray was talking to reporters at the Vidhan Bhavan complex a day after violence broke out in Nagpur, the hometown of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, following protests against Aurangzeb's tomb. Thackeray said, “If BJP has a problem with green, then it should remove green from its flag.” He said, “You tried to defame our party’s saffron flag and tried to teach us Hindutva.”
Thackeray said that Aurangzeb was born in Gujarat and died in Maharashtra. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said, “It is unfortunate that when BJP cannot govern, it resorts to violence and riots. This is their fixed formula in every state.”
He accused BJP of starting the tomb controversy to divert attention from the failures of the state government. He said that BJP is trying to make Maharashtra Manipur.