Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 13 (ANI): Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to create social and cultural tensions in Mumbai by using Chhath Puja as an issue and urged the public not to fall into their trap.
He also alleged that the party was trying to provoke a conflict between Marathi and North Indian communities ahead of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
In a post on X, Thackeray alleged that the BJP and the social media ecosystem it had nurtured were making every possible effort to create discord in Maharashtra by circulating reels related to Chhath Puja and what he described as cultural aggression in its name.
He also referred to the playing of Bhojpuri songs at some railway stations in Mumbai, claiming that the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had stopped it.
"However, the BJP appears to be disappointed that all these efforts have still not managed to create the kind of conflict it expects. And all this exercise is being undertaken with the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections in mind," he said.
Questioning the BJP's political strategy, Thackeray said the intellectual capacity of the party's think tank appeared to have weakened, adding that its long-used formula of "divide and rule" would no longer work to win elections.
He alleged that the BJP attempted to trigger Hindu-Muslim tensions ahead of Lok Sabha elections and caste-based divisions before state assembly elections.
"Whenever Lok Sabha elections approach, it tries to ignite Hindu-Muslim tensions. It brings Muslim women wearing burqas into playgrounds and gardens and attempts to scare people by saying, 'Look, look, now they have reached our playgrounds and gardens.' Of course, several videos of people wearing burqas to create an atmosphere of terror among Hindu women and men are already visible on social media," he said.
