‘Painful to watch…’: Priyanka Chaturvedi as Eknath Shinde visits Ayodhya

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, in a veiled attack on Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, said those visiting Ayodhya should do so as devotees and not as political tourists.

Shinde is on his maiden visit to Ayodhya after becoming the chief minister in June last year. He has been accompanied to the temple town in Uttar Pradesh by thousands of Shiv Sainiks. Without naming anyone, the Maharashtra chief minister said there are a few people who are “allergic” to Hindutva, because if it (Hindutva) reaches every household in the country, their “shop” will be closed.

Taking to Twitter, Chaturvedi said, “Those visiting Ayodhya for Ram Lalla darshan should do so as devotees and not as political tourists. Painful to watch the holy place being used to try building their non existent narrative. BTW, the only narrative that fits them perfectly is that of traitors, nothing else.”

Shinde took a dig at former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, saying that while Lord Ram suffered 14 years of exile without any objection to keep the promise he had not given to his father, Thackeray against the intentions of his father formed the government in the greed of power along with those people (Congress) who had opposed the Ram Mandir.

"People whom Balasaheb Thackeray had maintained a distance from, a government was formed with them. (However,) the work of fulfilling the dream of Balasaheb Thackeray has been done by Modiji. Modiji has made the mandir and also told the date. So, who has been proved as a liar?"

During the Dussehra rally held in October 2015 at Shivaji Park in Dadar, Uddhav Thackeray had criticised the BJP and brought up the matter of the Ram Mandir. He had said, "The BJP makes assurances of constructing a Ram Temple, but they never provide a timeline."