22 October,2026 12:01 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Uddhav Thackeray. File Pic
The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) on Thursday criticised Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat's remarks on public agitations, asserting that protests against the Narendra Modi-led government were a democratic right rather than acts of anarchy.
In an editorial published in its party mouthpiece, Saamana, the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction accused the RSS leadership of overlooking public grievances and indirectly supporting a government that it said had created serious challenges for the country.
Bhagwat, while addressing the RSS's annual Vijayadashami gathering in Nagpur on Tuesday, said protests were inevitable in a democracy but should focus on resolving problems rather than deepening divisions in society. He also argued that changing governments did not necessarily resolve fundamental issues.
The editorial questioned these remarks, arguing that public anger against the government could not be dismissed as political manipulation or an attempt to create instability.
The Thackeray camp interpreted Bhagwat's comments on regime changes as raising questions about the political transition that brought Modi to power in 2014.
It also questioned whether the RSS regretted the role played by its wider organisational network in earlier political movements, including the campaign that preceded the change of government in 1977.
The editorial accused the BJP-led government of contributing to economic and institutional challenges over the past 12 years. It cited inflation, unemployment, youth distress, corporate favouritism and the concentration of national wealth among influential industrialists.
It also raised concerns about democratic institutions, the judiciary, the Election Commission and Parliament, alongside national security issues, examination paper leak allegations, student protests and agricultural distress.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) questioned whether India's independence movement and the struggle to establish a republic would have succeeded without mass participation.
"Would India have gained freedom or republic status if the masses had not joined the independence struggle? Were the agitation for the Ram Mandir or the RSS-inspired Anna Hazare movement considered acts of anarchy? Should the Sangh apologise to the nation for bringing an allegedly ruinous regime to power?" the editorial asked.
The party argued that movements should be judged by their demands and methods rather than dismissed merely because they challenge the government.
Concluding its criticism, the editorial maintained that public movements serve as a check on the exercise of power and provide citizens with a means to express grievances.
The Thackeray-led party urged Bhagwat and the RSS leadership not to support a political approach that it described as a threat to democratic institutions.
It asserted that peaceful protests against government policies and alleged failures were rooted in democratic principles and remained an important part of public accountability.
