Those helping BJP are Maharashtra's 'enemies', polls all about love vs betrayal of state: Uddhav
Kolhapur, Nov 5: Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday hit the campaign trail and pitched the November 20 assembly polls as a battle between those who love Maharashtra and the ones who betray it as he reflected on the 2022 split in the party.
Thackeray hit out at his former ally BJP and its partners, saying those helping the national party are "enemies" of Maharashtra as he made a slew of promises to voters, including building a temple of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in every district if the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi comes to power.
Addressing his first rally of the 2024 assembly polls in Radhanagri in Kolhapur district -- the constituency of Prakash Abitkar, one of the 40 Shiv Sena MLAs who rebelled against his leadership -- he said those who love the state are aligned with the opposition MVA which comprises the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP).
Those helping the BJP, a constituent of the ruling Mahayuti bloc, are "enemies" of Maharashtra, Thackeray remarked.
Further attacking his one-time ally, the former CM accused the BJP of "selling" Maharashtra to Gujarat, where it is in power.
Thackeray claimed his government was toppled in June 2022 because he did not allow the BJP to harm Maharashtra and said not a single industrial project moved out of the state when the MVA was in office under his leadership.
"(Maharashtra assembly poll) is a fight between those who love the state and the ones who betray it," Thackeray told the gathering.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) president started his speech with the sentence 'Jamlelya Majhya Tamam Maharashtra Premi Bandhavanu, Matanu ani Baghinino' (My Maharashtra loving brothers, mothers and sisters), seeking to position the electoral battle as a fight between "the ones who love the state and those who work against it".
In his campaign speeches during the Lok Sabha polls in April-May, he would start his address with the sentence 'My Maharashtra loving brothers, mothers and sisters'. It was contrary to his regular Hindutva-rooted 'My Hindu brothers, mothers and sisters' opening remarks at rallies, perhaps reflecting his alignment with the Congress and the NCP (SP) which project themselves as "secular".
Referring to petitions filed by his party in the Supreme Court seeking disqualifications of rebel Sena MLAs, Thackeray emphasised he has still not got justice from the top judiciary and hence has come to people's court for justice.
"I am not fighting for myself, but for you and Maharashtra," the former CM insisted.
He accused the BJP of trying to divide people on the basis of religion and castes for the sake of power.
Attacking the state's Eknath Shinde-led dispensation, which assumed office after the fall of the MVA administration, Thackeray alleged the government works on "commission".
Talking about the Mahayuti government's flagship scheme for poor women, Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, Thackeray said police were not even ready to register the complaint of the mother of the girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted at a school in Badlapur in Thane district in August.
He said while the government is implementing the Ladki Bahin Yojana, under which underprivileged women are provided a monthly stipend of Rs 1,500, the inflation is spiralling, making essential commodities costly for common citizens.
Thackeray promised that if the MVA comes to power, every district in Maharashtra will have a temple of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
The former CM said if possible, he will also build a temple dedicated to the 17th century Maratha warrior king in Surat in present-day Gujarat, a city linked to Shivaji Maharaj's military campaign.
He assured that after the MVA comes to power, rates of essential food items like rice, pulses, oil and sugar will be stabilized.
Thackeray said currently education for female students is free in the state, but a MVA government will extend this benefit to male pupils, too.
The former chief minister said all-female police stations will be established in the state with an aim to provide a safe and accessible environment for women to file complaints and seek redressal of their grievances.
He reiterated that the multi-crore Dharavi Redevelopment Project in Mumbai, being executed by the Adani Group, will be scrapped if the MVA comes to power.
Thackeray also assured payment of minimum support price (MSP) to farmers for their crops under a MVA dispensation.
Polling for the 288-member assembly will take place on November 20 and votes will be counted three days later. In all, 4,140 candidates are in the fray across the state.
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Himanta slams Cong for questioning BJP nominee's citizenship, says he can call Sonia 'Italian'
Palonghat/ Dholai (Assam), Nov 5: Hitting out at the Congress for trying to project a BJP by-poll candidate in Assam as a ‘Bangladeshi’, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday claimed that questions can also be raised on the nationality of the opposition party's top leader Sonia Gandhi and she can be called an 'Italian'.
The Congress, in its campaigning for the Dholai constituency in Barak Valley, has cast doubts about the citizenship of BJP candidate Nihar Ranjan Das, claiming that it was a saffron party leader who first raised the allegation.
Sarma also alleged that the Congress is not bothered about electoral victory or defeat, and its only intention is to put hurdles in the state's development, as he likened the opposition party to a "male cow" that cannot produce milk.
Addressing a rally for Das at Palonghat during the day, Sarma said, “If you (Congress) call Nihar Ranjan Bangladeshi, I will also call Sonia Gandhi Italian. If you think I am afraid of Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi, let me tell you I am not.”
Sonia Gandhi who was born in Italy came to India in 1968 after her marriage to Rajiv Gandhi. She was granted Indian citizenship later.
The BJP leader maintained that Bengali Hindu residents of the present Barak Valley of Assam were dwellers of what is now Bangladesh, as it was the same country prior to Partition.
He blamed the Congress for creating the problems for Bengali-Hindus of Barak Valley, who had to move to present-day Assam following Partition of the country due to atrocities on religious minorities there.
“During the Lok Sabha election campaign, I had come here and said that we will resolve all problems of the Bengali Hindus. The government of India has already unblocked the Aadhar cards that were on hold. The state government has also issued orders that Bengali Hindus should not face any problems,” he said.
When all problems have started to vanish, the Congress is saying Das is a Bangladeshi, he claimed.
The opposition party is not insulting Nihar Ranjan alone, but all Bengali Hindus, he asserted.
Sarma also held the grand old party responsible for the Partition of India in 1947.
"Had you not bifurcated Bharat, atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh would not have happened,” the chief minister asserted.
“Hindus are facing atrocities even now (in Bangladesh). We can see this on television and social media. But you (Congress) cannot raise these issues. Congress was formed to play only negative politics,” the CM added.
Sarma dared the opposition party to defeat the BJP candidate through votes on issues of development as he named the welfare measures being pursued by his party’s governments in Assam and at the Centre.
Addressing his first rally at Dholai earlier in the day, Sarma said, “The Congress has no issue this election. They are not bothered about victory or defeat. They only want to hamper development. They don't want poor people to get government benefits.”
"The Congress should sit at home and take rest. They won't come to power for another 50 years,” Sarma, who had been busy with assembly polls in Jharkhand as the BJP's co-in-charge there, added.
Sarma claimed that the grand old party incited violence in the state earlier, which has been effectively controlled by the BJP-led government.
“The Congress had created conflicts between Assamese and Bengali people. Such conflicts are no longer there. There is no difference between Brahmaputra valley and Barak valley now. The same development is happening everywhere,” he added.
The BJP leader urged the people to vote for the party's candidate, claiming that uninterrupted, accelerated development of the constituency can be ensured if the MLA is from the ruling party.
“If the MLA and the MP both are from BJP, with BJP governments at Dispur and Delhi, they will work together. But if the Congress candidate wins, he will later say that he cannot get things done as the BJP is in power in the state and at the Centre,” the CM added.
“The Congress is like a male cow, you can feed it as much as you want, but it cannot give you milk. Similarly, you can vote for the Congress, but it cannot give you development,” Sarma said.
Using the same comparison at Palonghat rally, Sarma added, “Males don’t produce milk as per nature’s order of things. However, that order is different from what happens in politics. Nihar Ranjan is special, he will give you development.”
The chief minister asserted that the BJP has been fulfilling its poll promises, including providing one lakh government jobs, and all assurances will be implemented before the next Assembly elections in 2026.
By-elections are scheduled in five Assembly constituencies of the state on November 13.
Besides Dholai, the BJP has fielded candidates in Samaguri and Behali seats, while its allies AGP is contesting from Bongaigaon and UPPL from Sidli. These by-polls were necessitated by the election of the incumbent MLAs to the Lok Sabha.
Of these five seats, BJP and its allies held four, with Congress holding one.
