Mumbai: Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray Wednesday said that he allied with Congress and NCP to teach a lesson to BJP for "backstabbing". Uddhav was addressing the Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai.
The Sena versus Sena battle on the occasion of Dussehra is seeing both Thackeray and his arch-rival and current Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde taking pot shots at each other. "Ravan will burn," Thackeray told the Eknath Shinde camp, pointing to the huge crowds at the venue. He said the Shinde faction's reputation as "traitors" will never be washed away.
Thackeray lashed out at Shinde, whose rebellion in June this year brought down the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in the state. "As time changes, Ravan's face also changes. Today, it is the traitors (who are Ravan). When I was unwell and underwent surgery, I had given the responsibility to him (Shinde). But he conspired against me thinking I will never stand up on my feet again," the former chief minister said.
The Shiv Sena does not belong to one person but it belongs to all loyal Sena workers, Thackeray said, adding, "If you feel I should not remain the Sena president, I will quit. "There is a limit to lust for power...After the act of treachery, he now wants the party, its symbol and also wants to be called the party president," Thackeray said, targeting Shinde.
He formed a post-poll alliance with traditional foes Congress and Nationalist Congress Party to teach the BJP a lesson for breaking its promises, Thackeray said. "I swear on my parents that it had been decided that the BJP and Shiv Sena will share the chief minister's post for two and a half years," Thackeray said.
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The Sena had parted ways with the ally BJP after 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls over the post of chief minister. Thackeray also said he did not need lessons on Hindutva from the BJP. "BJP leaders visited (then Pakistan prime minister) Nawaz Sharif on his birthday without invitation and bowed before Jinnah's grave," he said.
He also accused the BJP of raising the Hindutva issue to divert attention from poverty, unemployment and inflation. "RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale has shown BJP the mirror," he said, referring to Hosabale's statement about the challenges of rising income inequality and unemployment.
Facing grave challenge of retaining control over the party founded by his father late Bal Thackeray, Uddhav sought support and strength from the Sena cadre, saying the party will bounce back. "Today I have nothing. But with your support the Shiv Sena will rise again. I will make a Shiv Sena worker chief minister again. We have to defeat the traitors in every election," he said, in apparent reference to the November 3 Assembly byelection in Andheri East here.
Meanwhile, Shinde attended the rebel faction's Dussehra rally at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). "Massive crowds at this Dussehra rally are proof enough to show who are true inheritors of Balasaheb Thackeray's legacy," Shinde said addressing a massive gathering. "Maharashtra voters elected you and BJP in Assembly elections, but you betrayed people by allying with Congress and NCP," Shinde said attacking Uddhav Thackeray.
Jaidev Thackeray, the elder brother of Uddhav Thackeray, evening shared the stage with Shinde at the Dussehra rally. Jaidev Thackeray's estranged wife Smita was also present at the MMRDA ground in BKC along with Nihar, the son of late Bindumadhav Thackeray, Uddhav Thackeray's eldest brother.
Champa Singh Thapa, a trusted aide of the late Bal Thackeray who served the Shiv Sena founder for 27 years, was also present at the event. Talking to reporters, Smita Thackeray said she was invited to the rally by Shinde, who heads the rebel faction of the Shiv Sena. Jaidev Thackeray, son of Bal Thackeray, said to share an uneasy relationship with his younger brother Uddhav Thackeray.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction has organised its own Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park in central Mumbai. Both Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray claim their faction is the "real" Shiv Sena. Shinde's rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray's leadership had led to the collapse to the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in June. (Agency inputs)
