Mumbai's iconic Dabbawalas to join Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's Ayodhya march

MUMBAI: Lending support to Shiv Sena in ongoing the Ram Mandir row, Mumbai's iconic Dabbawalas have decided to join party chief Uddhav Thackeray in his march to Ayodhya on November 25.

Subhash Talekar, president of Mumbai Dabbawala Association, said that they have written to Thackeray expressing their intention for the same. There'll be no effect on the regular services of the Dabbawalas in the city, he added.

A team, including of six members of the core group of the association, will join Sena's 'Chalo Ayodhya' march.

According to the Dabbawalas, the BJP failed to construct the Ram Temple despite being in power both at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh. It was their chief promise to the electorate in the last national elections, they added.

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena on Monday said that the RSS and its allied organisations "woke up" to plan 'hunkar' (exhortation) rallies to press for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya after the Sena announced its plans to visit Ayodhya on November 25.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad had Saturday announced that it would organise rallies on November 25 in Ayodhya, Nagpur and Bengaluru.

Questioning the RSS and other organisations over their choice of date for the Ayodhya rally, the Sena said, "Which almanac is being used by the organisors for the Ayodhya rally? The RSS has no intention of hosting such a rally for the Ram temple. But because the Sena announced in its Dusshera rally that it would visit Ayodhya on November 25, others have woken up."

"The construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya was almost forgotten by everyone. We did not check any almanac or calendar for our plans for the Ayodhya visit. Till then, everyone was keeping mum about the Ram temple," Sena said.

With agency inputs