‘Ram Raksha Andolan’ to start from tomorrow

Mumbai: Besieged for past six years with allegations that he had abandoned ‘Hindutva’, Shiv Sena (UBT) President and ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray changed tack today to announce a state-wide agitation called ‘Ram Raksha Andolan’ (Protect Ram Crusade) from Sunday.

The move is intended to corner the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is currently under fire from all over after alleged financial irregularities linked to devotees’ donations at the Lord Ram Temple in Ayodhya – inaugurated in January 2024 – surfaced recently.

Training guns on the BJP, Thackeray pointed out how the embezzlement of the worshippers’ donations in the temple coffers, now infamous as ‘daan-chori’, has hurt the sentiments of crores of devotees across India.

“A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been appointed and the probe is underway into the alleged misappropriation. This is an extremely serious matter and raises doubts over whether the holy temple’s collections are being diverted for political purposes,” said Thackeray grimly.

Against this backdrop, the ex-CM announced the ‘Ram Raksha Andolan’ which will kick off at the Maruti Temple near the erstwhile Kabutarkhana in Dadar west on July 5 (Sunday). He said the agitation will be conducted across Maharashtra and he would later visit Ayodhya.

“I appeal to all the devotees of Lord Ram to voluntarily converge at the venue. I urge people of Maharashtra and non-Maharashtrians also who greet each other in Lord Ram’s name to come and show their angst against the goings-on,” Thackeray said, flanked by party MP Sanjay Raut and other leaders.

Revoking Vajpayee

Alluding to the former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee’s famous quotes, “Ab Hindu maar nahi khayega’ (Now, Hindus will not suffer), Thackeray thundered: “Today, I am saying that ‘Ab Hindu maaf nahi karega’ (Now, Hindus will not forgive). Those who are looting temples will have to give answers to the Hindus”.

He recalled the time when the BJP had only two MPs in Lok Sabha (1984-1989) but later it adopted the Ram Mandir issue, exploited the nationwide religious movements and gained enormous political power in the subsequent elections in the country.

“However, today there is a blatant political dacoity taking place in the country, MPs and MLAs are being lured under the name of various ‘operations’. The issue now is whether the BJP is spearheading an ‘Operation Ram Mandir’. Theft is taking place though the media may not expose it. A robbery has also occurred at the Lord Ram Temple and some people speculate that the stolen money is allegedly being used to break up different political parties,” asserted Thackeray.

Sena Role

Tracing the role of the (undivided) Shiv Sena and its founder-patriarch, the late Balasaheb Thackeray, the SS (UBT) supremo said that the Shiv Sainiks had played a major role in the (Dec. 1992) agitation in Ayodhya, and its visuals are forever etched deeply in the peoples’ minds.

“The Hindus suffered massively during the subsequent incidents like attacks on the ‘kar-sevaks’, the Godhra train carnage (Feb. 2002), the communal conflagration in different parts of the country including Mumbai and the subsequent serial bomb blasts (March 1993), and others,” said Thackeray.

Unfortunately, today, the country is witnessing utter confusion and lack of accountability and it's time to hit at the ‘root cause’. Although the BJP built its political power base on the Lord Ram Temple issue, today the same Ram Mandir is being discussed for alleged corruption which is a matter of ‘deep concern’, he said.

Fresh bid to reclaim Hindutva

After Uddhav Thackeray snubbed the NDA to ally with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in Nov. 2019 and became the CM, the BJP has constantly fired darts at him for allegedly discarding ‘Hindutva’. However, the SS (UBT) chief lashed out at the BJP’s ‘divisive Hindutva’ over his own brand, “Mooh me Ram, Haath me Kaam”.

Many believe that the BJP’s shrill campaign may have contributed to the SS (UBT)’s slide, the MVA was dislodged from power in June 2022, Thackeray’s party suffered two devastating splits (June 2022 & June 2026); though MVA romped home in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, it was practically erased in the November 2024 Assembly elections.

Through the ‘Ram Raksha Andolan’, the saffron party hopes to galvanise its cadres and rebuild its cracked Hindutva image among the Hindu voters.