MUMBAI: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday told his supporters at the traditional Dussehra rally at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park that the party has not left its Hindutva plank and that he would continue to treat the rebels led by CM Eknath Shinde as traitors.
“They (the rebels) are parasites who have crept up the Shiv Sena tree. They should understand that without a tree, they have no worth. We are happy that these traitors have left us. Now, new leadership will emerge,” said Uddhav.
“We gave everything to him (Shinde)... his son was made Lok Sabha MP. People who come here love Sena and the Thackeray family,” Uddhav said. The Sena chief said Shinde’s faction is not the Sena at all. “They are parasites who have grown on the Shiv Sena tree. They should understand that without a tree, the parasite has no value. We are happy that these traitors have left us. Now, new leadership will emerge,” Thackeray said.
The Sena chief sought to keep the party’s Hindutva line. “We left the BJP, not Hindutva. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat recently visited a mosque. Does that mean that RSS left Hindutva? The BJP has no authority to speak on Hindutva,” said Uddhav. He also recalled LK Advani’s visit to the Jinnah memorial in Pakistan, saying the BJP was not the sole spokesperson for Hindutva. “The BJP also allied with Mehbooba Mufti for power in Jammu and Kashmir,” Thackeray said.
Thackeray said many development projects were “snatched” from Maharashtra and shifted to Gujarat. “We have no ill-will against Gujarat. However, our chief minister (Shinde) keeps visiting Delhi. In the last 100 days of this new government, Shinde might have gone to Delhi for 99 days. He has no authority…even hike mike was snatched by his deputy,” Thackeray said.
He said when he was the CM, deputy CM Ajit Pawar remained respectful. “The Congress and NCP
respected me and the chief minister’s chair.” Meanwhile, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in his parallel Dussehra rally at BKC said that far from being a traitor; his party was the “real follower” of Balasaheb Thackeray.
“We never betrayed the legacy of Balasaheb. In fact, Uddhav Thackeray cheated the party and is a traitor. They forgot the Balasaheb legacy. By joining hands with Congress and NCP, Uddhav forgot his father. We are the protectors of Sena legacy,” Shinde said.
Shinde demanded Uddhav’s apology for “cheating” the party. “The people assembled here represent the real Shiv Sena. We have the support of all party MLAs and MPs,” he said.“We took this step (rebellion) to save the Shiv Sena, preserve the principles of Balasaheb, Hindutva and for the betterment of Maharashtra,” he said, adding he has been getting an overwhelming response for the decision.
The CM asked Uddhav to apologize at Bal Thackeray’s memorial for going against his ideals and aligning with one-time political rivals, the Congress and NCP.“Do you even have the right to occupy the post (of Shiv Sena chief) after compromising on the principles of Bal Thackeray?’ Shinde said in a scathing attack.He said the massive crowd at his Dussehra rally was proof enough to show who the true inheritors of Bal Thackeray’s legacy were.