Ashish Shelar, the president of the Mumbai unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), clarified the party's stance on a reception held for Pakistani cricket players. Shelar denied any involvement of BJP in the event and asserted that the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) was also not responsible for it. Shelar's response came after Uddhav Thackeray, the chief of Shiv Sena (UBT), criticized BJP for welcoming Pakistani players and questioned BJP's alliances with socialist parties.
Shelar pointed out that the reception was organized by the International Cricket Council, distancing BJP and BCCI from the event. He reminded Thackeray of his past actions, including hosting Pakistani cricketer Javed Miandad, who is the son-in-law of Dawood Ibrahim, at his residence.
"He better not ask us questions. Also, when Thackeray's government was in power in the state, the tomb of Yakub Memon, who had supported terrorist activities in the country was beautified,"said Shelar.
He further stated that Thackeray is attempting to weave a "godhadi" (quilt) with 50 pieces of discarded fabric. The party is divided, and now he is working to unify it with the assistance of Samajwadi ideologies.
“Uddhav Thackeray is a prime example of how one can betray their own ideologies. Hindu Hridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray adhered to the Hindutva ideology, but today, his son has compromised it. The list of such instances is extensive. Thackeray had pledged to crown a Shiv Sainik as the chief minister, but instead, he assumed the chief ministerial position himself. He positioned Hindu Hridaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray's photograph alongside those of Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar. Thackeray raised doubts about the Ram Mandir and even mocked the fundraiser for it. Maharashtra and India are closely monitoring all of these developments,” he asserted.
He also pointed out that Thackeray had altered the party's slogan from "Garv se Kaho Hum Hindu hain"to "Garv se kaho Hum Samajwadi hain" and by the time his son Aditya takes over the reins of the party he might change it to "Garv se kaho hum MIM hain."