MUMBAI: The political battle over the Waqf Bill has intensified in Maharashtra, with Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray attacking each other over their stance on the bill in Parliament.Eknath Shinde criticized the Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday, calling it an unfortunate day for the party as their position on Hindutva was exposed. He claimed that the party had falsely stated they opposed the bill because it would hand over land to builders. “It is not true at all,” Shinde said.Uddhav Thackeray, on the other hand, accused the BJP of introducing the Waqf Bill to divert attention from the tariff issue with the United States. He argued that the BJP should consult all political parties before making major decisions.”BJP is the biggest political party of India, but it is in a confused state. Earlier BJP leaders gave a clarion call to remove Aurangzeb’s tomb, but later their parent body RSS said the tomb is an irrelevant issue. BJP says one thing while acting on another,” Thackeray said.Shinde further accused Thackeray’s party of being indecisive. “Shiv Sena (UBT) is very confused and they do not know what to do, whether to support the bill or not? They cannot take any clear stand on any issue. Both the leadership and party are baffled, therefore they supported the Waqf Bill in Parliament. It also shows that they have left behind Balasaheb Thackeray’s hindutva ideology,” he alleged.Shinde also said that Balasaheb Thackeray always supported nationalist Muslims, just like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. “But here Uddhav Thackeray took the wrong decision by standing with Rahul Gandhi and supporting the Waqf Bill. Thackeray wanted to oppose the BJP or the Waqf Bill, that is also not clear. Earlier, only a handful of people in the Muslim community were benefiting from Waqf land. Now, the Waqf land will be used for the development of schools, colleges, and hospitals for poor and needy people,” he said.Uddhav Thackeray countered by accusing the BJP of wanting control over Waqf land to hand it over to their close associates. He also questioned BJP’s commitment to Hindutva. “Union Minister Amit Shah says the Waqf Bill is in support of Muslims, so I want to ask, has BJP left Hindutva since they are supporting the bill? Shinde and BJP should not teach us Hindutva,” Thackeray said.
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