Mumbai, October 2, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, on Gandhi Jayanti, said Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy should not be reduced to ceremonial tributes and argued that his teachings remain relevant to democratic life.
In a post on X, Thackeray criticised the practice of commemorating national figures mainly by garlanding statues and posing for photographs.
“Our remembrance of great figures is often limited to their birth and death anniversaries – garlanding statues and taking photographs. Equating memorials solely with statues and posing next to them has become our new form of paying tribute,” he wrote.
Thackeray said Gandhi’s legacy included the ability of ordinary citizens to question those in authority. He alleged that people who raise questions are often labelled “anti-national” by those in power and their supporters on social media.
He also raised concerns over what he described as the suppression of peaceful protests and questioned the functioning of constitutional institutions, including the Election Commission.
According to Thackeray, Gandhi demonstrated that while governments possess legal and institutional powers, they cannot control an individual’s conscience or capacity for rational thought.
He also cautioned against social-media propaganda and what he termed “WhatsApp Universities”, saying citizens should retain their ability to think independently.
Thackeray’s remarks came ahead of a joint October 4 protest march in Mumbai with Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray over the functioning of the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The march is scheduled to begin at Byculla and proceed towards the BMC headquarters, according to reports.
The Thackeray cousins had announced the march at a joint press conference, inviting other political parties to participate. Raj Thackeray has said the protest is focused on concerns over the electoral process and the functioning of the poll body.
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