Expressing serious concern over the death threats received by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aaditya Thackeray, state’s Skill Development Minister Nawab Malik on Thursday said they suspect it to be connected with the organisations responsible for the murders of activists Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar.
“The manner in which Aaditya Thackeray received a threat letter, we suspect if it’s connected to the organisations that murdered (Narendra) Dabholkar and (Govind) Pansare,” Malik said.
“I too have received such threats. We have written for an investigation into it,” he added. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader further said the culprits will soon be nabbed and punished for their guilt.
Sunil Ghanwat, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti co-ordinator said, “It is unfortunate that the riotous Raza Academy is being termed patriotic while there are calls to ban the patriotic Sanatan Sanstha. The present definition of secularism is to ‘defame Hindutva’ and indulge in ‘minority appeasement’. It is unfortunate that the political rulers have fallen victim to such pseudo-secularism and they consider the riotous Raza Academy ‘patriotic’ while calling for a ban on the patriotic Sanatan Sanstha. The rulers should bear in mind that Hindu organizations are representatives of Hindu society. Even if an attempt is made to ban Sanatan, the Hindu organizations in the state will not sit idly by.”
Jayesh Thali, Gomantak Mandir Mahasangh said, “The path of those who do good deeds is littered with obstacles; Obstacles always come in the way of good work. A spiritual organization like Sanatan has to endure the same kind of suffering which Sant Jnaneshwar Maharaj and Sant Tukaram Maharaj also had to endure earlier. However, I am sure that Sanatan Sanstha will overcome all these obstacles and definitely unfurl the flag of Dharma in the near future. I condemn the anti-Hindu political forces that are levelling false allegations against Sanatan.”
Advocate Nilesh Sangolkar, Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad said, “Sanatan Sanstha is a spiritual organization and this organization has always been a ‘soft target’. Unfortunately, today those who are serving Dharma are being criminalized. To date, no court has ruled that Sanatan Sanstha is guilty in any of the cases. It is a gross injustice to Sanatan to demand a ban on them over cases that are sub judice. As an advocate, I will continue to fight against the injustice that Sanatan faces.”
Hindu Mahasabha, Spokesperson Pramod Pandit said, “Just for the sake of an issue, these accusations are made. Sanatan Sanstha is a spiritual movement; they talk about cultural values and their practices. Most people are allergic to Sanstha just because of their staunch Hindu ideology. They are the dedicated voters of the BJP and the BJP also supports them. So, the UPA government arrested and convicted their activists but no guilt is proven against them till today.”
Ashwini Kulkarni, Surajya Abhiyan from Kolhapur said, “Sanatan is engaged in spreading spirituality in the society through satsangs, discourses, Balsanskar classes for children, spiritual texts etc. While religion and spirituality is not the domain of politicians, the allegations made by some political leaders against Sanatan Sanstha, which teaches Dharma, are very painful. It is condemnable that an organization like Sanatan is being made a proverbial sacrificial lamb for political one-upmanship.”
“I think it is a serious matter, after losing power, some organizations are behaving in this manner. The Home Department will probe it and find out who is behind it. They will be nabbed and punished,” said Malik.
The Mumbai Police Crime Branch’s cyber police have arrested a man in his 30s for allegedly sending death threats to Aaditya Thackeray, who is Tourism and Environment Minister in his father’s Cabinet. The man, arrested from Bengaluru, Karnataka, has been remanded to police custody after being brought to Mumbai on transit remand. The accused was arrested earlier on December 18 on the basis of technical evidence.
Chetan Rajhans, Spokesperson of Sanatan Sanstha said, “Sanatan Sanstha strongly condemns the threats received by Minister of State Aditya Thackeray. We demand that the perpetrators of these threats be dealt with severely. However, in the absence of any reference in this discussion and in the context of cases that have already been adjudicated, two ministers of Maharashtra, Nawab Malik and Chhagan Bhujbal have made baseless allegations on Sanatan Sanstha. Their allegations are false and politically motivated. The intention behind this is once again defaming a pro-Hindu organization and thereby defaming Hindutva. Despite restrictions during the Corona epidemic, thousands of activists at Raza Academy caused riots in Maharashtra. But Chhagan Bhujbal didn’t utter a word condemning it. When Congress workers gave an open threat to behead Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi (former Wasim Rizvi of Shia Waqf Board), Chhagan Bhujbal didn’t bother to say a word decrying it. But he is demanding a nationwide ban on Sanatan Sanstha without any evidence. An English proverb says ‘give a dog a bad name and hang it’. This is exactly what anti-Hindu forces are trying to do to Sanatan Sanstha. We strongly condemn it.”
Ajinkya Wani, Yuva Sena Vidhan Sabha Secretary said, “Aditya Thackeray a Cabinet Minister, and I think no one can ever think of being a threat to him. We are here to grapple with all the threats who took on our Leader. Nothing can even touch him.”
Subodh Acharya, Deputy Leader, Shiv Sena said, “No one should be a threat to the Thackerey family. We are Shiv Sainik and our youth wing is organized Yuva Sainik’s ‘just be there, is what I can react to this issue.”
