Nashik (Maharashtra), Jan 9 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin, MNS president Raj Thackeray on Friday held their first joint rally for the the January 15 civic elections, hitting out at the BJP over a range of issues including its `poaching’ of leaders from other parties and unopposed election of candidates of ruling parties.
The BJP has become so shameless that it can even induct demon king Ravana in the party, said Uddhav Thackeray.
Both the cousins also criticised the Nashik Municipal Corporation’s plan to cut trees for building a ‘sadhugram’ for the next year’s Kumbh Mela.
“Whether BJP’s Hindutva is real or only for elections,” Uddhav Thackeray asked. The BJP is only wearing a “burqa” (veil) of Hindutva, he said, adding that his party’s Hindutva is “inclusive and nationalist.” The former Maharashtra chief minister said Tapovan in Nashik city, where the trees are proposed to be cut, is a place where Lord Ram is believed to have stayed during his exile.
He felt sad for BJP loyalists who got passed over as the party was inducting “tainted” leaders who were given preference, the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said, adding that those tormented by central agencies were joining the saffron party.
“The BJP has become so shameless that it can even admit Ravana in its fold,” he added.
“This election will decide how the lives of people and future generations are going to be,” Uddhav said as he promised good schools, a medical college and Mumbai-like transport system in Nashik.
Raj Thackeray said when his party controlled Nashik from 2012 to 2017, the Kumbh Mela was conducted successfully and not a single tree was cut.
“This time it is already decided. You first vacate the land (by cutting trees)… hold Kumbh Mela and later hand over the land to an industrialist,” the MNS chief claimed.
The BJP wanted to mislead people in the name of religion and caste, Raj alleged.
He also slammed the ruling alliance for over 60 of its candidates being elected unopposed (as other candidates pulled out) and said this deprived the voters of the right to cast vote. Candidates were elected unopposed by using threats and money power, Raj alleged.
The BJP was insulting its own party workers by importing candidates from outside, luring them with money, said the MNS chief.
Uddhav Thackeray, meanwhile, said he was happy that his cousin was with him and they were contesting the polls together. The two brothers, after two decades of acrimonious ties, have come together following their rout in the Maharashtra assembly polls 2024.
“Miracle will again happen in Nashik if power is given to Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS,” Uddhav said.
Elections to 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra will be held on January 15.
Uddhav also targeted Maharashtra assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, who has been accused of violating the model code of conduct, interfering in the nomination process and tampering with CCTV footage linked to the exercise.
“The Speaker should be impartial. He misused his power, but it is acceptable to the election commission. This is not a democracy but mobocracy. If we do not wake up now, we will have to live in slavery for more than 150 years,” the Sena (UBT) chief said.
Narwekar, a BJP MLA from Colaba in South Mumbai, has dismissed the charges as baseless and politically motivated. PTI PR KRK
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