Shiv Sena creates new slogan in temple issue

Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has come up with a new slogan for the Ram Mandir movement: ‘Har Hindu ki yahi pukar, pahale mandir fir sarkar’ (The priority of every Hindu is the construction of the temple rather than government).

Mr Thackeray summoned an important meeting ahead of his Ayodhya visit at Shiv Sena Bhavan on Sunday.

The meeting was attended by the party workers across the country, including Mumbai and Maharashtra.

Sources said that Mr Thackeray had directed workers of Yuva Sena and women’s wing of the party not to attend the Ayodhya meet.

In the meeting, the Sena chief said that if a party wishes to expand out of Maharashtra, then they need to speak in Hindi and learn the language.

He said that he was working on his Hindi as he would be delivering the speech in Hindi for the first time.

Ahead of Mr Thackeray’s November 25 visit to Ayodhya, his party colleagues had arrived in the city to carry out preparations earlier this month.

His personal assistant Milind Narvekar, Rajya Sabha MP and party spokesperson Sanjay Raut and Eknath Shinde had gone for preparations. In the Sena’s annual Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park in Dadar, Mr Thackeray had declared that he would visit Ayodhya and Ram Janmabhoomi on November 25.