Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray accused Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday of attempting to incite riots through the Maratha quota agitation ahead of the state assembly elections, particularly in the Marathwada region. During a press conference in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Raj Thackeray alleged that both are exploiting the Manoj Jarange-led quota agitation for caste-based politics.
Raj Thackeray claimed that these political personalities are using the agitation as a shield to advance their agendas in Marathwada. His remarks came at the end of his tour of the region, a day after suspected Shiv Sena (UBT) workers threw betel nuts at his convoy in Beed city. Following this, four individuals from Shiv Sena (UBT) were arrested for the act.
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He also accused the local Shiv Sena (UBT) president of raising casteist slogans in support of Jarange. He warned that if Uddhav Thackeray’s faction and NCP (Sharad Pawar) continue to block his tour, they will be unable to organise rallies in Maharashtra, news agency PTI reported.
Previously, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut acknowledged that those who made a protest against Raj Thackeray might be office-bearers of the Thackeray-led faction. He, however, distanced the party from the demonstration, attributing it to Maratha quota activists.
Raj Thackeray Accuses Uddhav, Sharad Pawar Planning To Use Maratha Quota Agitation In Upcoming Polls
Raj Thackeray also claimed that Muslim and Dalit voters opposed PM Modi in the Lok Sabha elections due to the Opposition's narrative on the Constitution, which suggested that the BJP intended to change it if re-elected with a large mandate. Although the ruling BJP and its allies dismissed this narrative as false, Raj Thackeray insisted that it was not baseless.
He pointed out that the BJP did not win a single Lok Sabha seat in the Marathwada region, the focal point of the Maratha quota agitation. Raj Thackeray accused Uddhav and Sharad Pawar of planning to use similar tactics in the upcoming assembly elections.
"That voting (in Lok Sabha) for the Opposition was not because of their (people's) love for them (opposition parties). They (Uddhav and Sharad Pawar) think a similar trick should be played in upcoming assembly elections," Raj Thackeray claimed, PTI reported.
He lashed out at Sharad Pawar for raising the potential of the Manipur-like issue in Maharashtra. "These people should worry that the situation in the state should not be like Manipur. You (people) will realise what runs in their minds. Their (Uddhav and Pawar's) efforts are to engineer riots, especially in Marathwada in the three-and-a-half months (assembly elections are due in October)," Raj Thackeray claimed, as quoted by PTI.
Raj Thackeray further alleged that Sharad Pawar has been promoting caste-based hatred since founding the Nationalist Congress Party in 1999. He criticised Sharad Pawar for not using good relations with PM Narendra Modi to resolve the quota impasse in Maharashtra.
He also mentioned that between 2014 and 2019, when Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (undivided) partnered with the BJP, he did not advocate for the Maratha reservation.