CM Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday attacked Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray over the party’s “Ram Raksha” protest and also criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over a protest by social activists and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. The Chief Minister's remarks were seen as a strong rebuttal to Thackeray, who had announced the Ram Raksha protest at a Ram temple in Nagpur over the alleged theft at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Slamming his former ally-turned-rival, implying that he could not recite the Ram Raksha hymn, and taking a swipe at the Sena (UBT)’s proposed protest at Nagpur on July 18, Fadnavis said, “I am ready to join him [Thackeray] in reciting the Ram Raksha. I can even read two pages with him. But one should first understand its meaning and why it is recited. The Ram Raksha should not be used for politics.”