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Thackeray takes on BJP over Savarkar
In his reply to the debate on the Governor’s address in the Maharashtra Assembly, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday came out all guns blazing against the
In his reply to the debate on the Governor’s address in the Maharashtra Assembly, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday came out all guns blazing against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), targeting it over various contentious issues raised by them on Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and coalition politics.
“Do you understand Savarkar completely? Do you accept his views on the cow? You have introduced beef ban here [opposed by Savarkar], but not in other states,” said Thackeray.
“Maharashtra madhe gou Mata, dusri kade chatta”.
He also referred to the late BJP Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar’s stance that there will never be a beef ban in Goa. “Why these double standards,” added Thackeray.
The Sena chief was reacting on the Savarkar controversy, where the BJP accused the Sena of not being critical of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s controversial statement.
He also returned taunts and jibes made against him by Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis in full measure.
Responding to the BJP’s demand for implementation of CAA in the state, Uddhav said “Please rescue Hindus from other countries, but have you thought about where you will keep them. You cannot do justice to Hindus in Karnataka. Is Belgaum-Karwar in Pakistan? Why are Hindus there suffering, your government is ruling there? If you can’t give sons-of-the-soil (Marathi-speaking population) in Karnataka justice, then what’s the point of this CAA,” questioned Thackeray.
The issue of the Marathi-speaking population in Karwar-Belgaum is an old issue of the Sena that Thackeray highlighted to put BJP on the mat.
Thackeray then took potshots on the oft-repeated accusation by the BJP that the Sena has struck an unholy alliance with their opponents, saying he had taken a leaf from the BJP. “Whatever we have done we have learnt from you. You broke the alliance between Nitish Kumar and Laloo Prasad Yadav. As per your convenience, you were okay with Mehbooba Mufti in Kashmir, Nitish Kumar in Bihar and Ram Vilas Paswan, who referred to BJP as Bharat Jalao Party at one time,” said Thackeray.
The CM’s political speech, however, did not address issues raised by the Opposition like farm loan waiver, compensation for farmers due to unseasonal rains or outline a rough vision of the state. He admitted candidly that it would take him some time to grasp figures and understand the budget in toto.
In a retort to Fadnavis’s claim that the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was like an auto rickshaw, Thackeray said since his government was for the poor, they could afford travel only in rickshaw and not a bullet train.
He reiterated that his government would keep its promise to the farmers, but did not spell out how this would be done.
