Bengaluru: The moment Shiva Sena decided to join hands with the Congress and the NCP to form a government in Maharashtra by relegating BJP and the prepoll alliance, it was almost clear that the party had divorced its Hindutva principle, which happens to be its very core. 

Within days of being sworn in, Uddhav Thackeray has buckled under pressure, thereby not just killing its ideology, but also kowtowing before the demands of the other two parties. 

Just today (December 4) Uddhav Thackeray has allegedly decided to bend over backwards to accommodate the unacceptable demands of the NCP and the Congress. 

One relates to the dropping of cases against the Bhima Koregaon protestors. Two, it relates to the non-acceptance of the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) by the Sena. 

Interestingly, in the previous government, of which the Shiva Sena was a part, these two issues ranked high and the Sena had extended its support to the BJP in relation to the two contentious issues. 

Narendra Taneja, a BJP spokesperson says “The entire country wants the country to go ahead with the CAB. If the Shiva Sena can’t sympathise with those Hindus who are being persecuted in countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan, it is unfortunate. On the other hand, if the Shiva Sena has dropped charges against Bhima Koregaon accused to please and placate the NCP and the

Congress, it is the people of Maharashtra who have been saddened.” 

Incidentally, these are not the only issues that have been upended by the Shiva Sena. Earlier the Shiva Sena did a volte face regarding the Aarey forest case. Secondly, it called off the Mumbai-

Ahmedabad bullet train project. Thirdly, it was the relinquishment of the singing of the Vande Mataram on the floor of the Maharashtra Assembly.

In the name of secularism, is the Sena selling its soul?