Ever since Shiv Sena formed an unholy nexus with political rivals- NCP And Congress to form a government in Maharashtra, it has evidently shunned its core ideological moorings of Hindutva and embraced appeasement politics of its newfound allies.
Keeping in line with this, the Shiv Sena party, which was once at the forefront of getting a magnificent Ram Temple to be built at the site of Ayodhya, has now put the issue on the back-burner and claimed that the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya can wait.
Refusing to comment on the Shiv Ling and several pillars that were excavated in Ayodhya, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut stated that all issues such as “India, Pakistan, Ram Mandir” can be put on hold now.
Speaking to the Times Now, the firebrand Shiv Sena leader, who was recently relegated from the post of Saamana editor, Raut said that the country is reeling under the unprecedented crisis of coronavirus outbreak and issues such as India-Pakistan and Ram Temple can wait until the pandemic recedes.
However, political analysts viewed these statements from Shiv Sena as further abnegation of its commitment to the cause of Hindutva.
Shiv Sena accused of betraying Hindutva
Ever since Shiv Sena broke its alliance with the BJP, the latter has accused it of trading its much-revered Hindutva ideology for the position of chief ministership. Shiv Sena severed ties with its erstwhile partner after being embroiled in a dispute over the rotational chief ministerial post.
While Sena claimed that the BJP had promised to have a rotational chief minister-2.5 years each before the elections, the BJP, on the other hand, claimed that no such pact was deliberated with Shiv Sena.
With the aim of installing a Shiv Sainik as the chief minister of the state, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party snapped its ties with the BJP and formed an alliance with the ideological rivals-NCP and Congress, sacrificing its support for Hindutva on the altar of chief ministerial position.
The first signs of Shiv Sena dropping the Hindutva issue came to fore when a Common Minimum Programme(CMP) was hashed out between the allies of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. It appeared that in their thirst for power, Shiv Sena had have given up on the Hindutva cause. In fact, there were speculations that the Congress and NCP wanted an assurance from Shiv Sena that their Hindutva agenda is going to take a back-seat once the government is formed.
After forming government with NCP and Congress, Shiv Sena has drastically toned down its demand for a Bharat Ratna for the Hindutva ideologue and Freedom Fighter Veer Savarkar, indicating that Shiv Sena no longer champions the cause of Hindutva with the same vigorous intensity it once did. Reservations up to 5 per cent for Muslims in Maharashtra was another such incident which demonstrated that Shiv Sena has abandoned the Hindutva cause.
