MNS leader gifts Raj Thackeray brick brought after Babri mosque demolition

Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Bala Nandgaonkar on Tuesday gifted a brick brought by him after the Babri mosque demolition in Ayodhya to Raj Thackeray, claiming the MNS chief is the heir of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray's ideology.

The 16th century mosque was demolished by 'kar sevaks' in 1992.

Bal Thackeray has often been quoted as saying he was proud if any of his Sainiks had taken part in the demolition of the structure.

Nandgaonkar said he had kept the brick with him for 32 years.

"I had gone to Ayodhya for ‘kar-seva'…after the Babri Mosque was demolished, I had brought a couple of bricks with me here. I had kept these in my home. I want to present the brick as a souvenir to Balasaheb after the temple is built. However, Balasaheb is no more. I see Balasaheb in Raj saheb and hence I gave one of the bricks to him,” Nandgaonkar said.

"Thus, I decided to gift it to Raj Thackeray, who is taking forward Balasaheb's thoughts in the true sense. Raj Thackeray is the heir of Balasaheb's ideology," he said after gifting the brick to his party head.

Then in Shiv Sena, Nandgaonkar had gone to Ayodhya temple town for ‘kar-seva’ at the instructions of late Balasaheb Thackeray.

"There were many Shiv Sena workers with me for the kar seva," he said.

It may be recalled that Balasaheb had said this on record several times that he was proud of the Shiv Sainiks who had taken part in the demolition of the Babri masjid.

"I would like to bring back home a brick from the current site of the Ram temple as a souvenir," he added.

The consecration of Ram Lalla's idol at the Ayodhya temple was held on January 22 this year.

It was held after the first phase of the temple’s construction, made possible by a historic Supreme Court judgment in 2019 on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit.

The Hindu litigants argued that the Babri mosque was constructed at the site of a temple marking the birthplace of Lord Ram.

(With DHNS inputs)