

Mumbai, Nov 22 (IANS) Shiv Sena UBT President and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday accused the BJP and RSS of spreading the poison of language.
“Now, what are the BJP people doing? They are inflaming linguistic regionalism (bhashik praantvaad). We do not demand that anyone be beaten up over language, he said.
He was speaking on the occasion when a BJP leader joined Shiv Sena UBT. Yogendra Bhoir, Vice President of the BJP Yuva Morcha in Dombivli, and his wife, Twinkle Bhoir, joined the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) party at his residence, Matoshree, on Saturday.
Referring to the recent statement by a Shinde faction legislator that it’s okay if the mother (Marathi language) dies, the aunt (Hindi language) must remain alive, he asked, “What else can you expect from such a person?”
He further said, “Now, even Bhaiyya Joshi from the RSS came to Ghatkopar and said that the mother tongue is Gujarati. This means that the poison is being spread by the BJP and the RSS, and they are putting the blame on us.”
Thackeray said that it was unfortunate that a 19-year-old college student from Kalyan died by suicide after allegedly facing severe mental distress, especially after an argument over his use of Hindi instead of Marathi.
“An unfortunate incident occurred the day before yesterday, which should not have happened. We do not demand that anyone be beaten up over language,” he added.
Thackeray said that amid ongoing local body polls and ahead of crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, many people are returning to Shiv Sena UBT.
“In short, everyone is slowly realising how hypocritical the BJP and the traitors (Shinde faction) are. But this fight is not easy. So, you (workers) must now keep your eyes open and observe everywhere. The Bharatiya Janata Party is a party that schemes and plots,” he alleged.
“Just as the BJP broke parties, they are now trying to break families as well,” he claimed.
Stepping up the attack on the BJP, Thackeray said, “The BJP’s bubble of Hindutva has burst. The sadhu murder in Palghar was an unfortunate incident. No one supports that incident, nor will they. When that incident occurred, the BJP inducted the very person they had accused into their party.”
“The BJP thought that by inducting him into the party, their sin would be hidden. However, the sin was not hidden; it came out into the open. After that, the BJP hastily put a stay on his entry in the party, which means that the BJP’s hypocrisy regarding Hindutva has been exposed,” he remarked.
–IANS
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