‘Muh me Ram, bagal me Rahul’: BJP MOCKS Uddhav Thackeray over ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ invite

Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has mocked Shiv Sena president and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray for agreeing to welcome Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra when it reaches Nanded. Maharashtra BJP’s chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye said that Rahul Gandhi has taken the place of Lord Ram in Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray’s Hindutva politics.

The saffron party leader took a jibe at its former ally after Thackeray accepted Congress’ invite to welcome Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in Maharashtra. Speaking to reporters here, state BJP’s chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye said, “Uddhav Thackeray never left home even for the sake of his party, but now he has set out to welcome Rahul Gandhi.” 

“Uddhav’s father, late Sena founder Bal Thackeray ensured that eminent personalities visited his residence but now “time is taking revenge by making Uddhav Thackeray go to Nanded to welcome Rahul,” he said. For Thackeray, it is “Muh me Ram, bagal mein Rahul,” the BJP spokesperson said. 

The old Hindi saying `Muh me Ram, bagal me chhuri’ is used to describe someone who pretends to be pious but harbours malicious intentions. Thackeray never took to the streets for Hindutva or participated in the Rath Yatra organised by BJP leader L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, Upadhye further said. The Sena and BJP, allies for three decades, parted ways in 2019 after a bitter dispute over the chief minister’s post.

Bharat Jodo Yatra of the Congress party resumed from Banavasi Village in Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday. Rahul Gandhi visited the Sri Ganga Temple in Adoni, Andhra Pradesh during the Bharat Jodo Yatra on Wednesday. The Yatra entered Andhra Pradesh on October 18, and Gandhi and other leaders reached the Kurnool district. Gandhi had recently started the 3,570-km trek from Kanyakumari to Kashmir called `Bharat Jodo Yatra` to strengthen the Congress party.