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In fresh salvo, Thackeray asks BJP if it understands Savarkar
Nagpur In his reply to the debate on the Governor’s address in the Maharashtra assembly, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday attacked the Bharatiya Janata
Nagpur In his reply to the debate on the Governor’s address in the Maharashtra assembly, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday attacked 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 cow? You have introduced beef ban here [opposed by Savarkar], but not in other states,” said Thackeray.
He also referred to late Goa chief minister and BJP leader 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.
Responding to the BJP’s demand for implementation of CAA in the state, Thackeray 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,” he asked.
The issue of the Marathi-speaking population in Karwar-Belgaum is an old one that Thackeray highlighted to put BJP on the mat.
Thackeray then took potshots on the oft-repeated accusation of the BJP that the Sena has struck an unholy alliance with their opponents, saying he had taken a leaf out of the BJP’s book. “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.
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.
