Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray said he does not need a 'certificate' on Hindutva from the Governor
The war of words between Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari escalated on Tuesday with both sides exchanging curt letters over reopening of religious places in the state.
In the letter to the Chief Minister, Koshyari had on Monday asked, "I wonder if you are receiving any divine premonition to keep postponing the reopening of the places of worship time and again or have you suddenly turned ‘secular ‘ yourselves, the term you hated?" Koshyari, an RSS veteran, had previously served as the BJP's vice president and first president of the party's unit in Uttarakhand, where he also served as CM.
Responding to Koshyari’s letter, CM Uddhav Thackeray said he does not need a 'certificate' on Hindutva from the Governor. “Do you mean that opening up religious places is Hindutva, and not opening them means being secular? Secularism is a crucial base of the oath you took as Governor. Do you not believe it?” he wrote.
Uddhav also said that the government is actively thinking about demands to open up temples and other religious places, but its primary duty is the safety of people during the pandemic. The Maharashtra chief minister also launched a veiled attack on the governor over his meeting with actor Kangana Ranaut in September.
“Sir, you mention Hindutva in your letter, but I do not need any certificate or any teaching on Hindutva from you. My Hindutva does not permit me to welcome home a person who called my Maharashtra or Mumbai Pakistan occupied Kashmir,” he said.
According to Koshyari, several delegations of religious leaders, individuals, NGOs and political leaders had met him to demand reopening of places of religious worship.
Meanwhile, scores of BJP workers on Tuesday protest outside the Siddhivinayak temple in Mumbai to press for the demand to reopen religious places. According to news agency ANI, the party is holding similar protests across the state.
