MUMBAI: Breaking his silence after his government was pushed to the brink of collapse by rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said he was ready to quit his post if the rebel MLAs tell him that they don't want him to continue as CM.
In a 17-minute-long webcast, Thackeray who tested positive for Covid-19 earlier in the day, said he was ready to give up the post of Shiv Sena president as well if Shiv Sainiks feel that he isn't capable of heading the party.
"Why make statements from Surat and other places? Come and tell me to my face that I am incompetent to handle the posts of chief minister and Shiv Sena president. I will resign immediately. I will keep my resignation letter ready and you can come and take it to Raj Bhavan," Thackeray said.
“I am ready to resign as the chief minister of Maharashtra but our rebelled MLAs should make chief minister from them only. The chief minister should be from Shiv Sena only. We are emotionally attached and cannot see anyone leaving us,” Thackeray said.
He said he took up the CM post despite his inexperience after a suggestion from NCP chief Sharad Pawar. “I never wanted chief minister of Maharashtra but during the formation of Maha Vikas Aghadi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar insisted me to become the chief minister so the three-party government could function smoothly,” Thackeray said.
The Chief Minister said that during the pandemic, he had undergone spine surgery, so, he could not meet the MLAs and the public but he is now meeting all of them.
CLICK HERE: Maharashtra turmoil LIVE
Uddhav Thackeray also said that NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Congress president Sonia Gandhi were very cooperative and kind to him. He said Sonia Gandhi would call him often to inquire about his health. NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Congress leader Kamal Nath too had called him, asking him continue as the chief minister of Maharashtra but his party MLAs do not him.
He also said Hindutva is the soul of Shiv Sena and that the party will never leave the ideology or separate themselves from it, adding that his son Aaditya Thackeray had recently gone to Ayodhya with Eknath Shinde.
(With inputs from Sudhir Suryawanshi and PTI)