BJP MP: 'I won't allow Raj Thackeray to enter UP'

'Raj Thackeray is not coming to Ayodhya to seek Ram's blessings.'
'He is coming to seek political gain in the name of Ram.'

"You (Raj Thackeray) have been using abusive language against north Indians. You will not be allowed to set foot in UP if you don't apologise. That's final," Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, the Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Kaiserganj in Uttar Pradesh, tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com in the concluding part of his interview.

• Part 1 of the interview: 'Raj Thackeray has become a Hindu for selfish interest'

Have you spoken with Yogi Adityanath if he has invited Raj Thackeray for a courtesy call when he visits Ayodhya?

Koi zaroorat nahi hai mujhe unse baat karne ki. Main itna halka aadmi nahi hoon (There is no need to talk to Yogi. I am not a weakling. I am my own man).

I have tagged Yogiji on a tweet and asked him to heed the feelings of hurt of north Indians, respect their sentiments, and not meet person (Raj Thackeray) unless he apologises.

So, you are sure you will prevent Raj Thackeray from leaving the the airport when he arrives in UP on June 5.

Trust me on that. I will not let him enter our land.

If Raj Thackeray really wants to become a national leader, win the hearts of Hindus, then he should apologise for his party's attacks on north Indians.

Scores of people from a neighbouring village where I live have narrated to me how MNS (Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) cadres beat them up and drove them out of Maharashtra.

One of my advocate friends whose son was admitted at Lilavati (a hospital in Mumbai's Bandra suburb) had to run away because of the agitation against north Indians. They (MNS cadres) beat him up as well. And there are thousands like him.

I have no problem with Raj Thackeray emerging as a national leader. India's Constitution gives that right to every citizen of this country. But apologise for your mistake first. At least say you won't repeat what you once did.

Agar aap humiko peetoge toh hum nahi aane denge (if you keep beating north Indians, then we won't let you enter UP).

Let me reiterate: This is my personal decision. The UP BJP has got nothing to do with my demand for an apology.

Aren't you also indulging in regionalism?

I have a lot of love and respect for the people of Maharashtra. I am proud of the history of the Marathas. We are one country. There was only Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who challenged Aurangzeb. I know my history. I know how courageously he escaped from Agra and what he must have felt to leave behind his son Sambhaji in Mathura and leave for Maharashtra.

How can I ever dare to show disrespect to the people of Maharashtra?

I have no issue with the MNS; my personal issue is only and only with Raj Thackeray. I am not doing this at a time when he is trying to emerge a national hero.

Main 2007 se is aadmi ko khoj raha hoon. Lekin yeh baitha hai Bambai mein. (I have been trying to find this man [Raj Thackeray] since 2007, but he has been in Bombay). He doesn't leave Bombay much.

But now he has announced his plan to visit Ayodhya on June 5.

Let me read a sher (couplet) to you:

Ab hawayen hi karengi roshni ka faisla (Now only winds will decide the fate of burning lamps)

Jis diye mein tel hoga who diya reh jayega (The mightier of the two lamps will survive the winds)

I dared him to enter UP. Let us now see who emerges victorious.

Why single out only Raj Thackeray for his anti-north Indian political posturing? You did not oppose Uddhav Thackeray's Ayodhya visit in 2020 whose father Bal Thackeray first gave wind to the anti-north Indian sentiment in Maharashtra.

I am not big enough to discuss the stature of a man like Balasaheb Thackeray. He was one man whose advice was sought by stalwarts like (Lal Kishenchand) Advaniji and (Atal Bihari) Vajpayeeji.

The Shiv Sena had no physical presence in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. I was the first person arrested by the CBI then. But Balasaheb gave a huge moral and intellectual boost to the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.

When nobody in India was ready to take the responsibility (for the demolition of the Babri Masjid) he was the first person to openly say that he was proud of Hindus demolishing the mosque.

I can't comment on a man whose stature is so big.

But he also encouraged anti-north Indian sentiment in his heyday and you let his son enter Ayodhya. His grandson and Maharashtra Minister Aditya Thackeray is also planning a visit to Ayodhya soon and you are opposing just Raj Thackeray's Ayodhya visit. Why?

Bhagwan Ram belongs to everybody. Anybody can come to Ayodhaya to seek His blessings. I don't have any patent on Ram.

But this person (Raj Thackeray) is not coming to Ayodhya to seek Ram's blessings. Yeh vyakti Ram ke naam per rajneeti karne aa raha hai (This person is coming to seek political gain in the name of Ram).

But even the BJP is accused of using Lord Ram for political gain.

This will unnecessarily extend the topic and change the course of our discussion.

Has Yogi Adityanath responded to your tweet asking him to seek Raj Thackeray's apology?

I am seeking an apology from Raj Thackeray at a personal level and I have the capacity to enforce that.

You have been an MP for six terms now. Should an experienced MP like you issue ultimatums that could snowball into a law and order problem?

I have not issued an ultimatum nor am I threatening anybody. I am just seeking an apology with folded hands.

But you say you will not let Raj Thackeray come out of the airport.

Listen. Either he apologises or I will not let him set foot in UP.

15 (during the Lok Sabha election campaign in 2019) days ago you (Raj Thackeray) were dishing out vitriolic comments against Modiji and have used insulting language referring to Yogiji.

You have been using abusive language against north Indians. You will not be allowed to set foot in UP if you don't apologise. That's final.