PUNE: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday criticised the central govt over its failure to clean the Ganga river.
Thackeray said he refused to drink water brought from Kumbh by his party member Bala Nandgaonkar, stating that it was not clean.
While addressing the party workers at an event organised in Pimpri Chinchwad to mark the party’s 19th foundation day, he said, “I saw on social media platforms the way people were scrubbing their body and taking bath at Kumbh. Nandgaonkar brought that water in a Kammandal (water pot) and wanted me to drink it. Who will drink such water?”
He added, “We emerged from the Covid pandemic, where masks were mandatory, yet we have learned nothing. Now, crowds gather for ritual baths. Religious faith should be meaningful, not driven by superstition. People must embrace logic.”
Thackeray said that some of his party’s office bearers from Mumbai also visited Kumbh mela last month owing to which they also missed the party meeting. “I inquired whether they bathed upon their return, and questioned why they engaged in actions that necessitated a pilgrimage to the Kumbh (to wash their sin),” he said.
The MNS chief said that not even a single river across the country is clean, even as we call it our mother. “The issue of cleaning the Ganga has been ongoing since Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister, but nothing happened in all these years,” he said.
His statement on Kumbh invited criticism from political leaders including those from BJP and Shiv Sena. BJP’s Girish Mahajan said, “Raj might have a different opinion, but it is not a superstition. It is religious faith. These traditions have been there for years.”
BJP’s Pravin Darekar said, “Raj’s statement is an insult to the devotees. It is a personal choice of an individual whether to follow certain practices or not, but nobody has the right to insult someone else’s religious faith.”
BJP leader Ram Shinde said it is wrong for someone who did not visit Kumbh to say that the water in the river was not clean.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam said, “Raj is known for changing sides. The way he made fun of those who believe in Sanatan Dharma, I doubt whether he is going to become anti-Hindu or form an alliance with some other group to contest elections.”
During his address, Thackeray also said that the politicians are causing a divide between two communities to divert their attention from real issues of development.
