The present Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is made up of only imported leaders and defectors, former Maharashtra CM and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said on Sunday, remarking that the BJP had been guided by Bal Thackeray in the State and had used the Sena when it suited them.
Speaking during a rally in Jalgaon in north Maharashtra, Mr. Thackeray railed against the ruling BJP and the rival Shiv Sena faction of current CM, Eknath Shinde, remarking that no one today knew where the original BJP had gone.
“I have never left the side of Hindutva, but merely severed ties with the BJP. I cannot leave Hindutva and will not rest till I have proved what it really means. I remember the glory days of the BJP when it had leaders like Pramod Mahajan, Gopinath Munde and Eknath Khadse [now with Sharad Pawar’s NCP]. But today’s BJP is only made up of imports and defectors. Had [late Sena founder] Bal Thackeray not shown you the right political direction, the BJP would have been nowhere in Maharashtra,” said Mr. Thackeray during his address.
He claimed that the present BJP leadership had broken the concord of the Shiv Sena concentrating on the State and the BJP focusing on the Centre when the Sena and BJP had been long-standing ‘Hindutva’ allies.
“Earlier, it used to be that the Sena would manage the Maharashtra and the BJP would focus on the Centre. Today, the BJP wants to grab power by any means at any level – be it State, Centre or even at a local-level institution,” Mr. Thackeray said.
Warning that the BJP had until now experienced the Sena’s friendship, the Sena (UBT) chief said that it would now feel the flames of the Sena (UBT’s) torch (election symbol of Mr. Thackeray’s faction) in the forthcoming polls.
Mr. Thackeray said that despite the BJP’s attempts to disparage the opposition INDIA bloc, the latter would ensure a change in the PM in the 2024 general election results.
Taking aim at CM Shinde, he criticized the present government for the lathi charge carried out by the police on pro-Maratha quota agitators in Jalna district recently.
He chastised Mr. Shinde for not personally meeting with pro-Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike in Jalna for nearly two weeks.
“His [Mr. Jarange’s] life is on the line, yet no important person from the government has spoken to him. The CM is not interested in meeting him. Earlier, the police attacked Maratha quota agitators like they were some sort of terrorists. Since when did this kind of mindset seep into the current government. Furthermore, at a time when the State’s farmers are in distress, the CM is paying no heed to their plight. Last year’s compensation due to excess rains is still pending,” alleged Mr. Thackeray.
Jalgaon is said to be the stronghold of Shinde camp MLA and Minister Gulabrao Patil.
Even as Mr. Thackeray was on a tour to shore up his faction’s fortunes in the region, his camp received another jolt after former five-term MLA Babanrao Gholap, an influential Thackeray camp leader from Nashik, resigned as Deputy Leader of Mr. Thackeray’s faction.
Downplaying Mr. Gholap’s resignation, Thackeray camp spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that Mr. Gholap would be meeting with Mr. Thackeray in Mumbai on Monday where all issues would be sorted out.
