Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Monday came out in support of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and criticized writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar for his remarks comparing him to the Taliban.
In its editorial mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena said that the RSS, which is the ideological mentor of the BJP, is a “nation-building organisation”. It demanded an apology from the writer-lyricist, saying that Akhtar was “completely wrong” in comparing the RSS to the Taliban.
“How can you say that those who support the concept of Hindu Rashtra are of Talibani mentality? We do not agree with it,” the editorial in ‘Saamana’ said.
Akhtar recently told a news channel that right-wing insurgents all over the world are like groups. “The Taliban want an Islamic country. These people want to create a Hindu nation,” the lyricist said without naming the RSS.
Reacting to Akhtar’s remarks, Shiv Sena said, “Even though Javed Akhtar is a secular person and speaks against fundamentalism, he is completely wrong in comparing RSS with Taliban.”
“The partition that led to the creation of Pakistan was based on religion. Those who support Hindu Rashtra, they want the majority of Hindus not to be sidelined. Hindutva is a culture and people of the community demand the right to stop those who attack this culture,” it said.
Stating that the stance of those propagating Hindu Rashtra is liberal, the Shiv Sena said comparing Hindutva with Taliban is an “insult” of Hindu culture.
“Despite being a Hindu majority country, we have raised the flag of secularism. The proponents of Hindutva only want that Hindus shouldn’t be sidelined…You can have differences with the RSS, but to call their philosophy Talibani is completely wrong,” it added.
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