Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday launched a scathing attack at BJP, PM Narendra Modi and Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde while addressing his party workers in Nagpur, Maharashtra, reported PTI. He called BJP 'Bhrasht (corrupt) Janata Party' adding that it is taking the country towards ‘dictatorship’. Thackeray also took a veiled swipe at the Eknath Shinde faction. He said that some people were using the name of Bal Thackeray as they know Prime Minister Narendra Modi's name will not work in Maharashtra, as per the report.
The former CM asked his party cadres to reach out to the people of the state and apprise them of the misdeeds of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Uddhav’s Sharp Attack On PM Modi
Uddhav Thackeray attacked PM Modi for visiting Madhya Pradesh, where polls are to be held at the end of the year, but not touring Manipur, where violence since May 3 has killed over 100 persons. According to PTI, attacking PM Modi over his silence on the violence in Manipur, Thackeray sought to know how rioting mobs there were getting weapons.
"Why is Manipur burning despite there being a double-engine government there," he asked.
He further claimed that an NCRB report speaks of 40,000 girls going missing in Gujarat in the last years but PM Modi talks about investing in efforts for the development of girls when he visits his native state.
Slams Shinde, BJP Days After NCP Split
The former Maharashtra CM said the BJP had betrayed Hindutva by including those who had quit other parties, an apparent jibe to the Shinde faction and Ajit Pawar camp.
"Our Hindutva is pure and clean and there is no place for such betrayal in our Hindutva," he said, as quoted by PTI.
Without naming the Shinde faction, he said some persons were taking the name of Bal Thackeray as they know the name of Modi will not work in Maharashtra. He said that the BJP, which claims to be the world's largest party, and its "supreme leader", referring to Modi, had to garner votes in the Assembly polls in Karnataka in May by invoking Bajrang Bali. “However, it did not work,” he added.
He said the BJP must now be called 'Bhrasht (corrupt) Janata Party' as it had levelled allegations against the NCP and was now sharing power with a faction of that party.
Thackeray said Shiv Sena (UBT) workers must hold dialogues with people to check if they are getting the benefits of welfare schemes as claimed by the ruling BJP. Those who had opposed Emergency (1975) had imposed an undeclared one across the country by putting curbs on people and registering fake cases, he alleged.
"You must speak up now or else we will not be able to speak after 2024. Our country is moving towards dictatorship like China, Russia and North Korea. Speak up now and get people to rise," he told his party workers.
The fight now was against those defaming Hindutva and to protect democracy, the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief asserted.
Devendra Fadnavis A ‘Taint’ On Nagpur: Uddhav
Uddhav went on to attack Maharashtra deputy CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and said that the latter was a "kalank" (taint) on Nagpur as he had aligned with the NCP despite asserting he would never do so.
Playing an old audio clip of Fadnavis stating that he would never join hands with the NCP, Thackeray said the BJP leader's "no means yes", reported PTI. He also attacked Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule for commenting against him.
Bawankule had earlier said that Thackeray's temperament was to lie. The comment was against the backdrop of the latter claiming the BJP had broken its promise to share the CM's post after the 2019 Assembly polls.
"You are commenting on me. But you were denied a ticket (in the 2019 Assembly polls). You are not able to handle the reputation of the party nor that of dedicated workers. All your reputation is going away and you are not able to do anything about it. You are only interested in sitting on the post of state unit chief," Thackeray said taking a swipe at Bawankule, as quoted by PTI.
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