‘The traitors will be taught a lesson’: Uddhav Thackeray

Thackeray was addressing a rally for his Thane Lok Sabha constituency candidate MP Rajan Vichare at Airoli

NAVI MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday lambasted PM Narendra Modi and the BJP on a host of issues from the party’s giving a religious spin to the issue of wealth redistribution to its deliberate splitting of opposition parties to its taking corrupt opposition leaders into its fold and still claiming to fight corruption. Thackeray was addressing a rally for his Thane Lok Sabha constituency candidate MP Rajan Vichare at Airoli.

Uddhav Thackeray, Rajan Vichare and Sanjay Raut at a rally in Airoli. (Photo by Bachchan Kumar/ HT PHOTO)

Claiming that Modi was fear-mongering by claiming that “properties will be distributed to those who have more children” (read Muslims), Thackeray said: “What does Modi have to do with who has how many children?” Linking the statement to defections to the BJP by prominent opposition leaders, he quipped, “What can I do if BJP can’t produce children in politics? It has to keep taking our children. The more you take, the better, as we will get new fresh ones. This is Nature. Only once the dry leaves fall will the new ones come.”

Targeting Shinde in his bastion, Thackeray said, “Balasaheb must be proud of Vichare for not succumbing to pressure and joining the traitors. Some people in their ‘masti’ feel that Thane is their personal property. I have come to clear their misconception. Vichare will win comfortably, but we need to ensure that the traitors lose their deposit too. Anand Dighe’s ‘Traitors will not be forgiven’ declaration will be witnessed in Thane constituency.”

Thackeray vowed that when his party returned to power, he would put the ‘traitors’ behind bars. Just like Lokmanya Tilak dared to speak against the British, Maharashtra is today again leading the fight against dictatorship,” he said. “Tilak had said the British government’s mind had gone for a toss; today’s government doesn’t have any mind, only khokhe.”

Rejecting Modi’s statement that he still liked him, Thackeray said, “Attempts are being made to mislead people, but it is only the BJP people who are confused now, not my people. I committed the huge sin of supporting Modi’s name as PM in 2014. Today he is calling my party the fake one. Maharashtra will not tolerate it.”

Thackeray stated that Modi had failed on all fronts and hence was using religion to divide people. “Satyapal Malik exposed you on the Pulwama attack but you haven’t responded. You do not speak of inflation, unemployment, women security and jobs. This is a Ghajini government. They do not remember tomorrow what they have said today.”

Asking for support to INDIA and MVA, Thackeray said, “If we ensure that all 48 seats are won by our alliance, their government will collapse. Maharashtra can finish the government from here itself. Let Modi take over 400 meetings, Maharashtra’s tiger’s claws will get them.”