Thackeray dares BJP to topple Maharashtra govt, takes dig at Fadnavis

The Maharastra chief minister took potshots at his predecessor, Devendra Fadnavis, who had recently said that he still feels he is the CM.

In a no-holds-barred attack on the former ally, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday dared the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.  Addressing party workers and functionaries during the annual Dussehra rally, Thackeray said that Shivaji Maharaj and Shiv Sena founder, Balasaheb Thackeray, had “taught us that we should not be afraid of anything.” 

In an apparent reference to the arrest of four Muslim men at a Garba event, Thackeray rhetorically asked “what kind of Hindutva is this?”(ANI)

“We are not scared of ED and CBI. We are not the ones to hide behind Police after making threats,” the Maharashtra CM said.

Targeting the BJP for fielding a former Sena leader for the Deglur bypoll, Thackeray said that the “world's largest political party” has to import candidates even for assembly by-election. The chief minister also took potshots at his predecessor, Devendra Fadnavis, who had recently said that he still feels like he is holding the top office in the state."

"I never think that I am the chief minister. Some people who said 'I will return', now thinks he has not gone [out of power]," Thackeray said, taking a veiled dig at Fadnavis' impassioned "Me punha yein" (I will return) assertion before the Assembly elections.

Criticising the ideological sibling, the Sena chief said that the BJP has neither understood Veer Savarkar nor Mahatma Gandhi. In an apparent reference to the arrest of four Muslim men at a Garba event, Thackeray rhetorically asked “what kind of Hindutva is this?”

“Hindutva means love for the nation. Balasaheb had said that we're citizens first, religion comes later. When we step out of houses by keeping religion at home, nation becomes our religion. It's our duty to speak against anyone who does anything in religion's name,” the Maharashtra CM said.

“Hindutva is social service. We don't think of religion or caste at the time of donating blood. We don't see if the blood is Hindu, Muslim or Marathi,” he added.