Mumbai: In opposing a recent government circular banning religious pictures in its offices, the Shiv Sena sought to re-assert its Hindutva-based politics in the run-up to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls while also aiming to score a brownie point against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said sources. The letter of a desk officer that banned religious pictures and slogans in government offices has created a furore in Maharashtra politics. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray slammed the BJP in his rally on Thursday while his ministers met the chief minister at his residence ‘Varsha’the following morning, which resulted in the CM withdrawing the letter.
The desk officer of the rural development department had given written directives to his departmental colleagues disallowing religious pictures and slogans in government offices. This letter dated on 4 January 2017, gave an opportunity to the Shiv Sena, a party that claimed to stand for Hindu rights. Mr Thackeray asked BJP in the rally whether it “is government of the BJP, a party that espouses the Hindutva cause, or Owaisi (the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader)?” Significantly, Mr Thackeray broke the pre-poll alliance with the BJP in same rally.
