Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led Union government after the Rajya Sabha’s new bulletin advised MPs not to end their speeches with words like “thanks”, “Jai Hind”, or “Vande Mataram”.
Calling the move “hypocritical” and “a betrayal of the BJP’s own sloganeering politics,” Thackeray said the same party that once demanded citizens chant Vande Mataram was now objecting to it inside Parliament. “What happened to their old slogan, ‘Desh me rehna hoga to Vande Mataram kehna hoga’? Now they themselves are restricting it. Their Hindutva and patriotism stand exposed as fake,” he said.
“My MPs Priyanka Chaturvedi and Sanjay Raut will raise the Vande Mataram slogan in the Rajya Sabha. Let me see what they do after that,” Thackeray said.
Moving beyond the Parliament row, he targeted the Maharashtra government over the civic polls and the alleged rampant misuse of money. He said the ongoing municipal and nagar parishad elections in the state had seen “money flowing like never before,” echoing concerns carried in the party mouthpiece Saamana.
“The arrogance of power is visible everywhere in their speeches and in their behaviour. Ministers are not meeting farmers, they only open bags of money where votes are needed,” he alleged.
‘Chaotic development’ worsening pollution
On Mumbai’s worsening air quality, Thackeray, in the press conference at Matoshree, accused the state government of “chaotic development” and linked the spike in pollution to decisions such as reviving the Aarey car shed project which he had scrapped during his tenure.
“When I was the chief minister, I stayed the car shed at Aarey immediately. My opposition was never to the Metro but to the destruction of green cover. The trees cut in Aarey, and the zero-planning development since, have pushed pollution to dangerous levels,” he said.
Drawing a sharp metaphor, he added, “This is not the cloud from an Ethiopian volcano. It is the smoke of corruption erupting here,” referring to the volcano that recently erupted in the East African nation, sending plumes of volcanic ash and dust that travelled across the Red Sea and disrupted flights in India.
Thackeray also raised concerns about the 2027 Nashik Kumbh Mela, alleging administrative neglect and hinting at political motives behind the delay in appointing a Guardian Minister for the district.
“Next year, lakhs of devotees and sadhus will come to Nashik. Their convenience and safety is the government’s responsibility. Yet, even today, Nashik has no Guardian Minister. Why?” he asked.
Citing the deadly stampede during the Prayagraj Mela, he warned that any lapse could prove disastrous. “Is the reason for this delay hidden somewhere in the Kumbh Mela budget? That is the real riddle,” he said.
Tree felling in Tapovan ‘not devotion, but deception’
Thackeray further launched a sharp attack on the Maharashtra government over the felling of trees in Nashik’s Tapovan area for the proposed Sadhugram ahead of the 2027 Kumbh Mela, calling the move “a massacre of nature wrapped in the rhetoric of Hindutva” and warning of agitation.
He said that the citizens of Nashik are opposing the tree-felling and the Sena (UBT) supports their demand and would agitate if needed. He accused the state of destroying a site deeply woven into the mythological memory of Lord Ram’s sojourn.
“Tapovan has been sanctified by the touch of Lord Ram and it holds dozens of tree species, medicinal plants and cultural traditions. Yet, in the name of preparing for Kumbh, they plan to axe all of it,” he said, adding that the land has “witnessed more Kumbhs than all of us combined.”
He questioned the government’s logic behind the large-scale tree felling. “Girish Mahajan says if one tree is cut, 10 will be planted. If they already have a vacant place where 10 new trees can fit, then why not build the Sadhugram there? Why destroy what already exists?” Thackeray asked. He termed the exercise “corruption carried out under the banner of Hindutva.”
Targeting the BJP directly, he said the party’s version of Hindutva was a “sham.” “They chant ‘Ram Ram’ in Ayodhya and do ‘Muh mein Ram, bagal mein Adani’ in Nashik. We cannot accept such hypocrisy and it must be opposed,” Thackeray said. “Who are you destroying Tapovan for?”
Thackeray reiterated that he was not opposed to the Sadhugram itself but to the environmental destruction it could lead to. “This is not about faith, this is about contracts. First, you kill nature, then you promise to plant new trees. That’s not devotion, it is actually deception,” he alleged, asking why the space used for the last Kumbh Mela was not being retained this time.
Claiming access to tender documents, he said the plans included a future conference hall and convention centre in the Tapovan area, suggesting that the Kumbh Mela was only a pretext.
“This is a contractor-driven development agenda. The land is being cleared today to be handed over to someone tomorrow,” Thackeray said, adding that the party will not let it happen.
Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray stated his MPs Priyanka and Sanjay will raise the "Vande Mataram" slogan in the Rajya Sabha. (Source: Express Archives) 
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