MNS leader gifts Raj Thackeray brick brought after Babri mosque demolition

Mumbai, Feb 6 (PTI) 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 always wanted to gift it to (Shiv Sena founder) Balasaheb Thackeray once the construction of Ram Temple got over. Sadly, the temple is there but Balasaheb is not with us," the former MLA 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.

Nandgaonkar said he had gone to Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 for the Babri mosque demolition.

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

"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. PTI