State chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday hit out at the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief, Uddhav Thackeray and the MNS president, Raj Thackeray, for organising the non-political march in Mumbai on Sunday, July 26.
“It seems that the Thackeray cousins are desperately trying to regain their lost political ground in the state by organising this march,” commented Fadnavis while interacting with the media during his visit to Pandharpur to offer prayers at Vitthal-Rukmani temple on the occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi.
According to Fadnavis, the Thackeray cousins’ Sunday march has been organised under the garb of the students’ protest.
“But in reality, the march has nothing to do with the students. Both the cousins are desperate to regain the political ground that they have lost. I extend my best wishes to both of them,” commented Fadnavis.
Responding to questions, the state CM said that in the protests that took place in Delhi and in the state, there was the presence of youngsters, who took part in the agitation and were genuinely concerned about their future.
“But there was also the presence of vested elements in those stirs who wanted to derive political mileage. Such elements had indulged in creating violence and lawlessness,” said Fadnavis, adding that Sonam Wangchuk had withdrawn his hunger strike after the Union government took note of his demands and acted on them.
{{/usCountry}}“But there was also the presence of vested elements in those stirs who wanted to derive political mileage. Such elements had indulged in creating violence and lawlessness,” said Fadnavis, adding that Sonam Wangchuk had withdrawn his hunger strike after the Union government took note of his demands and acted on them.
{{/usCountry}}The Shiv Sena (UBT) recently got a jolt when six of its Lok Sabha members joined the rival Sena faction headed by the deputy CM, Eknath Shinde. The latter engineered a vertical split in the party in 2022. The MNS fared poorly in the last assembly polls and the BMC elections held early this year.
Reacting to Fadnavis’s claims, the UBT spokesperson, Sushma Andhare, said that expressing solidarity with the students does not mean that UBT and MNS are trying to regain political space.
“Both the central and the state BJP leaders are unnerved by the spontaneous protests of the students not only in Delhi but also in cities in Maharashtra like Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur and across the country,” said Andhare.
“The students, through their agitations, have shown to other citizens that they do not fear either the Union government or the Maharashtra government, which tried to suppress the stir initially,” alleged Andhare.