Uddhav calls for oppn unity to defeat BJP and save democracy

Mumbai: Hardening his stand against the BJP, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday declared that independence and democracy were under threat from the BJP, a party that had no connection whatsoever with the country’s freedom movement. “Maharashtra will never accept the slavery enforced by the BJP, and will make them bite the dust in the elections,” he stated.

In his first public rally after losing the Shiv Sena name and election symbol to the Eknath Shinde-led faction due to the recent Election Commission of India (ECI) ruling, Thackeray’s faction put up an impressive show of strength. Addressing the massive rally at Khed in Ratnagiri, the Sena (UBT) chief did not mince words while slamming the ECI.

“I will not accept the verdict of the ECI, which is a slave of the rulers; I will only accept the verdict of the people of Maharashtra,” he said. “Let them fight with a stolen symbol. I will fight with the flaming torch, and let’s see who wins. The traitors can steal our party name and symbol but they can’t steal the Shiv Sena from the hearts of people.”

Hitting out at the BJP, Thackeray said the party was conspiring to end democracy and bring in dictatorship in the country. “But Maharashtra has the legacy of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who fought for swarajya, and will never accept being a slave to the BJP,” he said. “Let us unite to fight this party and defeat it in the elections to save democracy. If we don’t fight it now, 2024 will be the last election.”

Remarking that India’s freedom fighters had not shed their blood to push India into the slavery of the BJP, Thackeray also dared the party to contest elections in Maharashtra using a photograph of only Prime Minister Narendra Modi and not that of Shiv Sena supremo, the late Bal Thackeray. Bringing up the oft-cited instance of big-ticket investments from Maharashtra allegedly being diverted to Gujarat ahead of elections in that state, he said that the story was being repeated in Karnataka. “Now it has been declared that the iPhone factory will be set up in Karnataka, as the state is due for elections very soon,” he said.

Veering to the issue of the ‘Marathi manoos’, Thackeray castigated CM Shinde for keeping mum when BJP leaders insulted Marathi icons like Chhatrapati Shivaji and Savitribai Phule. He also alleged that Shinde, in alliance with the BJP, was trying to finish off the Shiv Sena, the unity of the Marathi manoos and Hindus. “They are trying to end the unity of Marathis but they forgot that the Shiv Sena was born to fight against injustice, and no one can finish the Shiv Sena,” he said. “They cannot steal the political legacy of the Shiv Sena.”

BJP leader and MLC Praveen Darekar in response to the criticism by Thackeray said, “Uddhav Thackeray has challenged us to fight elections with a photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The people of India trust Prime Narendra Modi on a national level. People from various states also voted for BJP due to the face of Modi. In Maharashtra also we will fight elections with the photo of Modi and will win the elections.”