The Senior Shiv Sena leader denies the decision to snap ties with BJP is a new one, says Nawazuddin Siddiqui is the best pick to play Bal Thackeray in his biopic.
Mumbai: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut is of the view that the BJP is not a Hindutva party and has forgotten its promises whereas Sena has stuck to its core principles of Hindutva. In an interview with Contributing Editor Mahrukh Inayet, Raut explains the reasons why the Sena decided to snap ties with its decades-long ally BJP and the road ahead. Excerpts:
Your party has announced breaking away from the BJP. Why now?
This is not a new decision. We fought the 2014 assembly elections on our own. Nobody asked questions then. What is the point of asking this now? We fought municipal elections and local body elections on our own. We feel that even for assembly elections we must fight on our own. The BJP has made it very clear that it wants to fight alone, so do we.
Your leader Udhav Thackeray says that Modi regime must end but you are still in the BJP-led government. Isn’t this hypocritical?
This is not hypocritical. We had a post-poll alliance with the BJP to ensure the Congress does not come into power. We have said it several times, that this alliance was a compromise to keep certain parties out.
Are you keeping your options open for a post-poll alliance again or is the BJP now a pariah?
We don’t do politics of opportunism. As a party, the Shiv Sena does not believe in keeping our options open. We will fight elections based on our principles.
Uddhav Thackeray has said that the Shiv Sena will again focus on Hindutva. Aren’t you following in BJP’s footsteps?
Who told you that the BJP is a Hindutva party? The BJP agenda might speak of Uniform Civil Code, or abolition of Article 370 or Ram Mandir. But even after three years of being in power, BJP’s Hindutva agenda is not visible.
The Shiv Sena has never compromised on the Hindutva agenda. We have never run away from our core agenda, which is Hindutva.
You plan to release the biopic on Bal Thackeray in 2019, the year which will see Lok Sabha elections. Is this part of your plan to revive the party?
There is no coincidence. We are not making a documentary on Balasaheb. You might have your political differences with Balasaheb, but no one can deny that he was a great leader, a popular leader.
We are not making this film for any ulterior, political motives. His story must be told.
Why did you choose Nawazuddin Siddiqui to essay this role?
Nawazuddin is a fantastic actor. He is a thorough actor. He does his research and gets under the skin of the character he plays. And I felt that there was no other actor who could play role of Balasaheb than Nawazuddin.
The Sena has always raised a hue and cry over north Indians and Muslims. Nawazuddin is both.
The Shiv Sena has never played politics of opportunism over north Indians or Muslims. And Balasaheb said that Muslims were not the enemies. Those who believe and are part of the Indian mainstream and culture are our brothers is what Balasaheb always espoused. But we have a problem with those Muslims who still consider Pakistan or Bangladesh as their motherland.
Nawazuddin is a proud Indian, that’s what I believe. As for north Indians, show me one example where the Shiv Sena has done any political campaign against them. To fight for ‘sons of the soil’ is not wrong. I will fight for Marathas if I am in Maharashtra, for UPites if in UP and for Bengalis if in Bengal.