Ajit Pawar distances himself from ‘batenge to katenge’ slogan: Don’t support it

In a bid to distance himself from recent controversial slogans, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said that he cannot endorse slogans like ‘batenge to katenge’ (if divided, we perish).
His remarks came in response to Maharashtra BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who had previously justified the slogan, claiming it highlighted historical instances where Hindus suffered due to a lack of unity.
Speaking in an interview with news agency ANI, Ajit Pawar, who also leads a faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), emphasised, “I have opposed this slogan, and even senior BJP leaders have criticised it.”
“A Chief Minister from another state (referring to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath) came here and said ‘batenge to katenge,’ but I told him that this is not Uttar Pradesh—this kind of rhetoric doesn’t work here,” Pawar said.
When questioned about Fadnavis’s support for the slogan and his statement that violence against Hindus has increased whenever they are not united, Pawar responded, “Everyone has their own perspective. I do not know what Devendra Fadnavis thinks, but we do not support slogans like ‘batenge to katenge.'”
The phrase ‘batenge to katenge’ was first used by Yogi Adityanath in August when he called for Hindu unity in Bangladesh amid violence against Hindus. He repeated the slogan at a recent election rally in Maharashtra. Echoing this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced another one, ‘ek hain toh safe hain’ (we are safe if united).
Opposition parties criticised these slogans, accusing the BJP of fearmongering and arguing there was no situation warranting such rhetoric.