In an apparent tactical retreat, MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Friday announced that he was “temporarily” deferring his much-discussed visit to Ayodhya scheduled earlier for June 5. In a brief announcement made to this effect on his Twitter handle, the MNS chief did not cite any reason for postponing his visit to Ayodhya but said that he would talk about the issue at a later stage. Raj’s decision to postpone his visit to Ayodhya sparked speculation in the state political circles. One of the inferences being drawn are: since he has already bitten more than he can chew on by raking up the “Hanuman Chalisa” issue and associating himself indirectly with the Opposition, he wants to see if the timing of his visit to Ayodhya is right.
The inference should be seen in the light of the fact that his visit to Ayodhya will have happened around the time when Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray is visiting the place along with hundreds of party workers. Whether he likes it or not, Raj’s visit to Ayodhya will be compared with that of Aaditya, a thing that the MNS chief does not want.
Secondly, he wants to first decide whether he will formally tie-up with the BJP for the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections scheduled to be held in September/October this year. Maybe he wants to complete the seat sharing negotiations with the BJP first before embarking upon his visit to Lord Rama’s birth place.
The MNS chief’s decision to postpone his visit to Ayodhya has come in the midst of vociferious protests by some BJP leaders and activists in Uttar Pradesh and other northern states who are opposing Raj’s proposed visit to Lord Ram’s birth place.
A section of the BJP leaders and workers has for some time been demanding Raj's unconditional apology for the treatment meted out to north Indians in the MNS agitation in 2008. The anti-Raj protests are led by BJP mp from Uttar Pradesh Brijbhushan Sharan Singh who warned that unless he apologises, Lakhs of his supporters would block his entry to Ayodhya on June 5.
Another speculation that is going to Ayodhya in the state political circles is that Raj has postponed his Ayodhya visit because of health reasons. However, there was no official confirmation on this count.
Meanwhile, MNS Spokesperson Sandip Deshpande and his senior colleague Bala Nandgaonkar had a tough time fielding queries over his sudden decision to defer his Ayodhya visit. They said that the MNS chief would brief his party workers at a public rally that he is planning to address in Pune on Sunday.
Even as the MNS leaders found themselves in quandary over Raj’s Ayodhya visit,Shiv Sena’s Tourism Minister Aditya Thackeray and State Congress President Nana Patole announced that their forthcoming visit to Ayodhya for ‘darshan’ of Ram Lalla would go on as per schedule and their trips would be ‘non-political’.
Shiv Sena’s MP and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut took a pot shot at the MNS chief Sanjay Raut said tongue in touch: “There are a large number of Shiv Sainiks and Sena supporters in Ayodhya, and we would have supported him. But, he is being used by the Bharatiya Janata Party. Wisdom prevails on some people belatedly,” Raut said.
Averring that Raj might have realised that he is being “exploited” by the Opposition BJP, NCP spokesperson Clyde Crasto said: “They propped him to propagate their agenda and when their message was delivered, they have cut him down to size. He was used as a pawn and he allowed himself to be used to revive his failed political career”.
Blaming the BJP for the mess that Raj has landed himself in, Congress General Secretary Sachin Sawant “First the BJP pumped up air into him, but when it feared that the Hindutva vote-bank would be divided, they snipped him off,” Sawant said.
On his part, BJP’s Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said: “Raj has postponed his visit now, but whenever he plans to go there, he will be given full support and nobody will touch him”.