Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday said his tweet about the stay on Ayodhya yatra was deliberate as it “allowed everyone to give their feedback”. Addressing a rally in Pune, Thackeray said he “decided not to get into this controversy” as people were trying to “implicate” him against his scheduled visit to Ayodhya.
“Two days back, I had tweeted about postponing my Ayodhya Yatra. I made the statement intentionally to allow everyone to comment. Those who were against my Ayodhya visit were trying to implicate me, but I decided not to get into this controversy,” ANI quoted Raj Thackeray as saying.
He also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring a law on population control and Uniform Civil Code at the earliest.
The postponement of Thackeray’s much-talked-about Ayodhya yatra comes amid strong protests by BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who warned the MNS chief that he would not be allowed to enter the Uttar Pradesh city unless he told North Indians ” Didn’t make a public apology for the “humiliation”. , Thackeray, in his early years as MNS chief, often targeted migrants from UP and Bihar on the pretext of promoting the cause of ‘Marathi Manus’.
In 2008, the MNS had launched an agitation during which candidates from North India who had arrived to take the railway examination at Kalyan in Maharashtra’s Thane district were assaulted.
Critics questioned his transition from the politics of so-called ‘Marathi Manus’ to Hindutva as the MNS leader raised the issue of loudspeakers and later announced his visit to Ayodhya. Union minister and RPI(A) chief Ramdas Athawale also asked Thackeray to apologize to the north Indians before going to Ayodhya.
The MNS president said on Twitter, “The Ayodhya tour is currently on hold. Details will be given in the rally to be held in Pune on May 22.”
(with inputs from agencies)
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