Mumbai, Oct 12 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said the revolt he led freed Shiv Sena from from those who betrayed the ideals of party founder Bal Thackeray.
Attacking Uddhav Thackeray, he said there was now no difference between the former’s Shiv Sena (UBT) and Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM.
Addressing a Dussehra rally at south Mumbai’s Azad Maidan, Shinde said the Lok Sabha polls have proved which group was the real Shiv Sena.
In a direct fight between Shiv Sena and rival Shiv Sena (UBT) on 13 Lok Sabha seats, Shinde pointed out that his party won seven.
In the Lok Sabha polls, the Shiv Sena contested 15 seats and won seven, while the Sena (UBT) contested 21 and won only nine.
Shinde said his party’s strike rate was 47 per cent as against 42 per cent of the Sena (UBT).
“MVA’s Lok Sabha success was accidental and not permanent,” he asserted.
The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi won 30 of the 48 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, while the NDA won only 17.
Shinde, who led a revolt along with 39 MLAs in 2022 leading to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government under Thackeray, said “We freed Shiv Sena from those who betrayed Balasaheb’s ideals.” “Everyone knows whose votes led to your victory. Iqbal Musa, bomb blast accused, took part in campaigning. Pakistan’s flag can be seen in your campaign trails. Congratulations to the votes you got after abusing (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi and (Union Home Minister Amit) Shah and abandoning Hindutva,” he said.
“There is no difference between MIM (AIMIM) and Sena UBT,” Shinde alleged, alluding to the Muslim votes which the Sena UBT bagged in the Lok Sabha polls.
Shinde’s speech singularly targeted his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray on a range of issues from governance to politics.
When Thackeray was the chief minister he only wanted the eligible residents of Dharavi to be rehabilitated (as part of the redevelopment project), Shinde claimed.
After he became CM, a decision was taken to rehabilitate all 2.10 lakh residents of Dharavi, Shinde said.
The Sena (UBT) has been alleging irregularities in the multi-billion Dharavi redevelopment project.
“You were in power for 25 years but never prioritised people’s happiness. You built bungalow after bungalow while Dharavi’s residents remained in slums,” Shinde said.
The MVA applied breaks to infrastructure projects in Mumbai and Maharashtra, which he “uprooted”, Shinde asserted.
“We are not the ones who do Facebook Live but work face to face,” Shinde said, adding Thackeray cannot mask his inactivity under the guise of COVID-19 pandemic.
Shinde also accused Thackeray of corruption in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which the latter controlled for 25 years, as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier, leaders from Delhi would come to Matoshree (the residence of the Thackerays in Bandra) to meet Bal Thackeray, but Uddhav Thackeray went to the national capital urging other parties to make him the chief minister of Maharashtra.
When allies don’t want Thackeray as the CM then how will Maharashtra accept him, Shinde jibed. PTI PR NSK BNM
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