‘Everyone should open their eyes’: Uddhav Thackeray targets ex-ally BJP on Waqf law | India News – The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday claimed his former ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would now go after the land belonging to Christians, Jains, Buddhists, as well as Hindu temples, citing an article in the Organiser, the mouthpiece of BJP’s ideological parent Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
His statement came a day after President Droupadi Murmu gave assent to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, making it a law.
“The next step (after the Waqf law) would be to eye the land of Christians, Jains, Buddhists and even Hindu temples. They will give prime land to their friends. They have no love for any community,” Thackeray said, according to news agency PTI.
“They (BJP) have made it public and everyone should open their eyes,” he added.
However, Thackeray replied in the negative when asked if Shiv Sena (UBT) would approach the court against the Waqf law.
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The ex-Maharashtra chief minister was speaking during the launch of the Shiv Sanchar Sena, which will be the party’s IT and communications wing.
Earlier, Thackeray’s INDIA bloc ally Rahul Gandhi of the Congress, as well as Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, too, cited the same article and made similar charge against the BJP.
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The controversy stemmed from the Organis^{er’s piece titled “Who has more land in India? The Catholic Church vs Waqf Board Debate” The article was later pulled down.
The article claimed that while the common belief is that the Waqf Board is the second-largest landowner in the country after the central government, it is actually the Catholic Church which is the largest non-governmental landowner.}