On Saturday, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut advised Sitaram Yechury to drop his first name after the CPI(M) general secretary said Hindu epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana were replete with “violence”. He also asked Yechury if he would term as "violence" the action of security forces while defending the country against Pakistan-backed terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.

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“If this is the meaning that they interpret, tomorrow they will say that our jawans fighting against Pakistan is violence. When we defend ourselves against Pakistani acts of terrorism in Kashmir, is that violence?" asked Raut.

Raut said, "What do you mean by saying Hindus are violent? The Ramayana and Mahabharata conveyed a central message -- victory of good over evil, truth over falsehood. Ram, Krishna and Arjuna are symbols of truth." He further alleged that Yechury has just one ideology and that is to “attack Hindus and make oneself the premier secular person”.

In an article for the CPIM mouthpiece, People's Democracy, Yechury had said the BJP's decision to field Pragya Singh Thakur as its candidate from Bhopal is an expression of its efforts to consolidate the Hindutva "communal" vote bank. Yechury also took on Narendra Modi for his claim that Hindus can never be violent, alleging that the Prime Minister erases Indian history replete with gruesome battles and wars. "It is a fallacy to say that Hindus cannot engage in violence," Yechury had said.

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