Union Home Minister Amit Shah lashed out at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, accusing him of being with those leaders who opposed the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and insulted Veer Savarkar.
Shah was speaking at the launch of the party’s ‘Sankalp Patra’ (manifesto) for the Maharashtra assembly elections in Mumbai on Sunday.
“Uddhav ji, I can’t decide where you sit. But I want to tell you that you’re sitting with those who opposed the abrogation of Article 370. You’re sitting with those who opposed the construction of Ram Janambhoomi temple. You’re sitting with those who speak ill of Savarkar. You’re sitting with those who opposed CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) and UCC (Uniform Civil Code),” Shah remarked.
The Home Minister further challenged Thackeray to ask Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi to speak “good” about Savarkar. He also asked whether Congress leaders can do the same for Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.
“I want to ask Uddhav Thackeray from this stage. Can he ask Rahul Gandhi to say something good about Veer Savarkar? Can any Congress leader speak something to honour Balasaheb Thackeray? This is an internal (ideological) difference. People of Maharashtra should take note of such contradictions in the MVA alliance,” he said.
Attacking the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance further, Shah accused them of indulging in ‘appeasement politics’. He also accused the MVA alliance of rejecting people’s mandate in 2019 because of their greed to come to power.
“I want to categorically state that the MVA alliance and their schemes are only meant to do appeasement politics. They are insulting to ideologies and meant to betray the culture of Maharashtra just to gain power. I want to appeal that you vote for the Mahayuti government for the third time. In 2014, you gave us the mandate. We were mandated to form the government in 2019, but the people’s mandate was rejected because of the greed to come to power. However, something that is not legitimate (or is banavati) doesn’t stand for long,” Shah said.
Amit Shah launched the Sankalp Patra (manifesto) of BJP offering 25 guarantees. He was accompanied by various senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders including Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who said that through this manifesto PM Modi’s visions are being realised in Maharashtra.
The Maharashtra assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with votes for all 288 constituencies to be counted on November 23.
The opposition MVA coalition, comprising Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Nationalist Congress Party (SCP), seeks to reclaim power in the state, challenging the Mahayuti alliance, which includes Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
