Uddhav Thackeray slams govt says now even Ram Temple promise also a 'jumla'

Mumbai, Jan 13: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday addressed party workers and leaders to set the tone for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. He asked the BJP as to how Ram temple can be built when its allies Nitish Kumar of JD(U) and Ram Vilas Paswan of LJP are opposing it.

While addressing Thackeray said,''They say Congress comes in between when Ram Mandir issue comes up. Just because Congress comes in the middle, people punished them by taking away the majority & giving you the power. However, we don't see any Ram Mandir built by you so far.''

Thackeray also slammed the BJP over Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath's remarks on Lord Hanuman, saying that had the caste of any other religion discussed, it would have become a big issue. ''Why is Lord Hanuman's caste being discussed? If any other religions' castes are discussed, it will be made a huge issue, but it's okay to discuss Lord Hanuman's caste. How sad it is,'' he said.

The Shiv Sena also took a dig at Modi's promise of depositing Rs 15 lakh into every citizen's bank account calling it a 'jumla', asking how people can trust the party if they making the issue of Ram temple a 'jumla' too.

"Rs 15 lakh in accounts was a 'jumla' and now even this (Ram Temple) is a jumla? When we went to Ayodhya, people said,"ye to Bal Saheb ka ladka aaya hai, ye to Ram Mandir banake hi jayega". If you're making this issue also a jumla, how can you expect people to trust you?" he asked.

Thackeray also criticised the Quota Bill, he said,''If you really want to help financially weaker section, then why don't you exempt those below ₹8 lakhs per annum income from paying taxes? You have given reservations but have you calculated or considered the actual way of implementing reservations?.''

The Shiv Sena on Saturday targeted the Narendra Modi-government after the reinstated CBI director Alok Verma resigned. The Sena called the ouster of Verma as a panic reaction by the Central government that is facing allegation in the Rafale fighter jet deal. In an editorial titled 'the end of CBI' in party mouthpiece Saamana, the Sena said that the government has set "wrong precedents" by denying Verma an opportunity to defend himself.