Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray.
Credit: PTI Photo
Buldhana: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's disapproval of Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath's 'batenge to katenge' remark shows there was no unity in the ruling Mahayuti alliance.
Referring to the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue in Sindhudurg district a few months back, he accused the Eknath Shinde-led government of being the "most corrupt" in the history of Maharashtra.
Addressing a poll rally in Buldhana, Thackeray said, "Ajit Pawar's disapproval of Yogi's remark shows there is no unity in the ruling Mahayuti alliance. In this scenario, Maharashtra does not need to learn any lesson from the UP chief minister."
Adityanath has been raising 'batenge to katenge' slogan at his election rallies in Maharashtra. Talking about it, BJP ally and NCP chief Ajit Pawar on Thursday said the people of the state do not appreciate such remarks, and that the people of the state have always strived to maintain communal harmony.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance comprises the BJP, Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP.
Thackeray took a dig at the BJP stating that it has to bring leaders from outside the state to campaign ahead of the polls.
"The Maharashtra assembly election is a contest between those who love Maharashtra and those who betray it," he said, dubbing the Mahayuti allies as betrayers of the state.
"The Mahayuti government is the most corrupt in Maharashtra's history. They indulged in corruption in building the statue (of Shivaji Maharaj). Work done with inauspicious hands does not see any success and the statue collapsed," Thackeray said.
The statue of Shivaji Maharaj was unveiled last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Thackeray also announced that if the MVA is voted to power in the state, its government will build the temples of Shivaji Maharaj in every district.
"The temples will highlight the teachings of Shivaji Maharaj on how to govern and respect women," the former chief minister said, adding that he will also build the Maratha warrior king's temple at Surat in Gujarat.
"Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis cannot tolerate 'Shivaji Maharaj ki jai' slogan. He (Fadnavis) said you build a temple in Mumbra (a Muslim dominated locality in Thane) first. Do you find it difficult to build Chhatrapati Shivaji's temple in the home district of CM (Shinde)? They think Shivaji Maharaj is a vote-getting machine," Thackeray alleged.
The former Maharashtra chief minister asked how Ajit Pawar sits next to Fadnavis, whose party had arrested NCP leader Nawab Malik and linked him to terrorist Dawood Ibrahim.
Malik was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in 2022 in a money laundering case. He was later released on bail. He is also the NCP candidate from Mankhurd Shivajinagar.
He also accused the BJP of launching an attack on his party with the help of "dacoits", apparently referring to the MLAs who rebelled against his party and sided with Eknath Shinde.
"The Shiv Sena stood with the BJP in its tough times. Had Shiv Sena not been there, Modi would not have been the prime minister and Fadnavis would not have been the CM," he said.
Vidarbha gave maximum MPs to the BJP from 2014 and 2019. But how many people from Vidarbha got jobs in the last 10 years, Thackeray asked.
He claimed that the wind was blowing in favour of the MVA in Maharashtra.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
Subscribe and follow DH on Whatsapp, X, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram to never miss out on anything.