Politics
Uddhav Thackeray Slams Eknath Shinde for ‘Bowing to Delhi,’ Rallies Shiv Sena Workers Ahead of Maharashtra Elections
Uddhav Thackeray Slams Eknath Shinde for ‘Bowing to Delhi,’ Rallies Shiv Sena Workers Ahead of Maharashtra Elections
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday accused Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde of “bowing” before Delhi and added that the coming assembly elections are a fight against those who “hate” the state.
Addressing a party workers’ gathering in Thane city, Shinde’s bastion, the former chief minister also accused the state government of “bribing” the voters with the announcement of its flagship scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana’ months ahead of the state assembly polls due in October.
He also added that women should take benefit of this scheme as it is their own money but on no account compromise over self-respect.
“They are bowing before Delhi, he said, attacking Shinde who heads the rival Shiv Sena and added that Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray’s struggle was about refusing to bow before Delhi.”.
“The state assembly fight will be with the ones who hate Maharashtra,” Thackeray added.
The protest incident took place at the Gadkari Rangayatan auditorium in Thane where Thackeray was about to arrive for the event. At that moment, a group of MNS workers began protesting and even hurled tomatoes as well as cow dung toward Thackeray’s convoy. Police detained some youth MNS workers.
Thackeray did not as much as mention that incident during his speech.
On Friday, Sena (UBT) supporters had thrown betel nut at the convoy of MNS chief Raj Thackeray, Uddhav’s estranged cousin, in Beed city.
Uddhav Thackeray added in his speech that assembly elections would be run in this coming November so that the maximum benefit of the scheme named Ladki Bahin comes to the ruling alliance, and under the same, eligible women got Rs. 1500 each per month. “For him, his party workers were his ‘wagh-nakh’, and he was not afraid of “Abdali”,” said the former chief minister.
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“My Sainiks (Sena workers) are my `wagh nakh’, which is why I do not fear Abdali,” Thackeray said.
Last month Thackeray had likened BJP leader Amit Shah as “Ahmed Shah Abdali” after the Union home minister accused him of being the head of the “Aurangzeb fan club.” ‘Wagh-nakh’ or tiger-claw, a hand-held weapon, is claimed to have been put by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj when he kills Bijapur sultanate general Afzal Khan in 1659. The weapon is now displayed in saturation at a museum in Satara. He also alleged that the civic body’s contracts were given to not more than a few select contractors in Thane. Thackeray further alleged that there was plenty of corruption, and the Thane Municipal Corporation was in bad shape and going bankrupt. He also asked party workers to check the electoral rolls to thwart bogus voting and to take the ‘flaming torch’ symbol of the party to every hand in a constituency.
