Launching a no-holds-barred attack on Shiv Sena (UBT)
chief Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the
former joined hands with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP),
forsaking the party’s core Hindutva moorings, to fulfil his personal
aspirations of becoming the CM.
In his Dussehra address at Mumbai Azad Maidan Ground
on Tuesday, without naming Uddhav, Shinde claimed that the former could join
hands with Asaduddin Owaisi of the AIMIM or even with “Lashkar-e-Taiba or Hamas”
if it suits his political ambitions.
“The people are aware of what is happening today. The
lifelong ideals of our founder-leader Balasaheb Thackeray were compromised to
satisfy someone’s lust for power and ambition of becoming the Chief Minister.
They joined hands with the Congress, the same Congress which Balasaheb always
kept us away from. Today, these people are sharing the stage with them,” Shinde
said, railing against Uddhav.
“I won’t be surprised if they (Sena UBT) merge with
the Congress. Instead of being proud Hindus, they consigned the core beliefs
that the (undivided) Shiv Sena was founded on to the waters to stand with the
socialists, their ideological opposites. They could even join hands with Owaisi
or with terrorist organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hamas if it suits
their political ambitions. Our Shiv Sena can and will never compromise with our
founding ideals for the sake of power,” Shinde added.
Uddhav Thackeray had stepped down as the Chief Minister
after his Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Government was reduced to a minority and
eventually fell in the wake of Shinde’s rebellion and switchover to the saffron
camp.
Meanwhile, Uddhav, addressing a counter-rally on the
occasion of Dussehra at Dadar’s Shivaji Park, dared CM Shinde to hold elections
in the State for a people’s referendum where the two Sena factions stand in
terms of popularity and public support.
“Hold elections if you dare. The people of Maharashtra
will tell you (Shinde) who is the real Shiv Sena. I challenge you to hold
elections in Maharashtra,” reacted Uddhav.
ANI
