Ticking off Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray for compromising on his Hindutva ideals by his alliance with the Congress, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Friday questioned Mr. Thackeray’s silence over the newly formed Congress government in neighbouring Karnataka removing Hindutva ideologues V.D. Savarkar and K.B. Hedgewar from the school textbooks.
“You may remove their names from school textbooks, but one cannot erase Savarkar and Hedgewar or any other freedom fighter from the minds of the people,” said Mr. Fadnavis, speaking in Mumbai.
Taking a hardline stance against the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition of Mr. Thackeray’s Sena faction, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP and the Congress, Mr. Fadnavis asked that while the Congress government in Karnataka was acting on expected lines, would the MVA and Mr. Thackeray implement the ‘Karnataka pattern’ if it ever came to power.
