Shiv Sena (UBT) chief and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray invoked late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in his Dussehra speech at Mumbai’s iconic Shivaji Park, highlighting the importance of a ‘mili- july sarkaar’ (coalition government) during the conference. Centre.
Thackeray also lashed out at his former aide and Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, challenging him to call the Assembly elections at the earliest to determine the real claimant of Shiv Sena.
Here are the 10 main highlights:
– Despite losing the Shiv Sena name and electoral symbol to rival Shinde, Thackeray asserted that the majority of party cadres are behind him, adding that his group is the real claimant to the legacy of late Sena founder and his father Bal Thackeray.
– “Conduct the elections (in Maharashtra) and the people of Maharashtra will tell you (Eknath Shinde) who the real Shiv Sena is. I challenge you to hold elections in Maharashtra,” news agency ANI quoted Thackeray as saying.
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– Thackeray, while sharing his thoughts on the national political scenario, said that the country needs a strong government but not brutal majority rule of one party.
– Thakeray advocated a ‘Mil-July sarkar’, referring to the Central governments led by former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh, PV Narsimha Rao and Vajpayee. The Shiv Sena, then led by his father, was part of the Vajpayee-led NDA government between 1998 and 2004.
– “We saw a strong government. There should be a strong government, but not from one party with a brute majority,” the Sena (UBT) president said, targeting his former alliance partner, the centre-ruling BJP.
– Thackeray further lashed out at the BJP, claiming that neither the party nor its predecessor Jana Sangh took sides in the freedom movement, the Marathwada liberation struggle or the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, which led to the formation of the state of Maharashtra in 1960.
– A significant part of Thackeray’s speech was aimed at Shinde, who led a rebellion in the undivided Sena last year and led to the demise of the government led by him. In a chilling warning to rivals, Thackeray was quoted as saying by news agency PTI: “After coming to power, we will hang upside down those who harass us.”
– Thackeray also spoke on the Maratha reservation issue during his speech as he accused the state government of mishandling the situation.
“Like Jallianwala Bagh, there was lathicharge on Marathas in Sarati villages. The government of Eknath Shinde is the government of General Dyer.” NDTV quoted Thackeray. He was referring to the lathicharge against the protesters in September, which drew criticism from several quarters.
– Meanwhile, Shinde in his annual Dussehra speech at the Azad Maidan alleged that Thackeray showed lust for power in the wake of the 2019 Assembly elections. He wanted to become the chief minister but was portrayed as having been asked to take over by the alliance partners , he claimed.
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Updated: Oct 24, 2023 10:31 PM IST