Former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray.
Credit: PTI File Photo
In the countdown to the crucial Mumbai meet of I.N.D.I.A, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday hit out at PM Narendra Modi for using expressions like “ghamandia” and “Indian Mujahideen” for the opposition bloc even as he chose to liken the BJP-led NDA as “amoeba”.
“When the Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the Moon…the Prime Minister was in South Africa…he was waving the national flag…who was he representing…India or Indian Mujahideen,” Thackeray said addressing a rally at Hingoli in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra.
Thackeray, a former Maharashtra chief minister, who played a key role of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra, which ruled the state for two-and-a-half-years before being toppled - would host a formal dinner during the I.N.D.I.A meeting.
The two-day meeting is scheduled on 31 August-1 September at the Grand Hyatt Hotel at Vakola in Santacruz area of Mumbai.
Thackeray said that it was sheer “arrogance” on part of Modi to use various names for the grand opposition alliance. “He called I.N.D.I.A as ‘ghamandia (or gham-INDIA’)…what if you call NDA as ‘ghamandiya’ (or gham-NDA),” Thackeray said and pointed out that the NDA is like an “amoeba” which does not have a definite size and shape.
“…let me tell you all…the opposition bloc hasn't united against Modi, but for the sake of the country….the I.N.D.I.A alliance would defeat the BJP,” he said amid thunderous applause.
Thackeray also asked Telangana chief minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) supremo K Chandrashekar Rao to clarify whether he was supporting NDA or I.N.D.I.A.
On the NDA, he said: “They call themselves….double-engine…triple-engine…four-engine…they have become a maal-gaadi (goods train)…they are using their washing powder and making people join (the BJP or NDA).”