Coalition govt needed, not rule of one party with brute majority: Uddhav Thackeray
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said the country needs a strong government but not of "one party with brute majority", and batted for a coalition rule.
Speaking at his party's annual Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park in central Mumbai, he said when the "chair" (of ruler) is unstable, the country becomes strong.
Thackeray, who is part of the Opposition's INDIA bloc, advocated a "mili-juli sarkar' (coalition government) which can take everyone along, and cited the examples of governments under Manmohan Singh, P V Narasimha Rao and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
There was a time when Sena founder and his father late Bal Thackeray said that the country needed a strong government, Uddhav recalled.
"We have seen a strong government for nine years now. Have the issues of the people been resolved?
"There should be a strong government, but not of any one party with a brute majority," he added, targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), his friend-turned-foe.
The BJP or (its predecessor) Jana Sangh played no role in any struggle including that for the country's freedom, Marathwada liberation struggle or the Samyukta (united) Maharashtra movement, the former chief minister claimed.
Attempts were being made to "steal" the Shiv Sena, he said, slamming the rival Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Warning his rivals, Thackeray said, "After we come to power, we will hang upside down those who are harassing us."
Attacking the BJP, Thackeray said his party's Hindutva was nationalism.
Slamming the Shinde government over the lathi-charge at Maratha protestors in Jalna last month, Thackeray said the Marathas were agitating for quota even when he was chief minister, but he never gave such orders.
Who was the "General Dyer' who ordered lathi-charge in Jalna, he asked.
The issue of reservation for Maratha, Dhangar and other communities can only be resolved by the Centre and Parliament, Thackeray further said.
The BJP creates a rift and then acts as a protector, he alleged.
Slamming Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar over "delay" in disqualifying rebel MLAs of the Shiv Sena, Thackeray said the country was not just watching how the case unfolds. If the speaker did not heed the Supreme Court's direction (to hear disqualification petitions expeditiously), the people would be watching if an apex court exists in the country or not, he said.
Thackeray also dared the Shinde-led government to hold elections and let people decide whether the rebel MLAs were "qualified or disqualified".
Seeking to counter the BJP's attack on dynastic politics, Thackeray said he was proud of his family.
"...a doctor's son becomes a doctor. We are preserving the legacy of our family... Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud is also preserving the legacy of his family," he said.
"He (Chandrachud) has occupied the position because of his merit. His father (Y V Chandrachud) too was the chief justice of the country and he was very strict," Thackeray said.
On the other hand, there were some leaders who came from obscure families and rose to power, Thackeray said, citing the examples of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Saddam Hussain, Vladimir Putin and Muammar Gaddafi.
Targeting the Maharashtra government over the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project, he asked who will benefit from it.
The high-speed train project was being executed "so that traitors can quickly flee to Gujarat," he quipped, and alleged that attempts were being made to "loot Mumbai."
All good investments were being diverted from Maharashtra to Gujarat and other states, Thackeray claimed.
The Pakistani team was playing cricket in India when Indian soldiers were being shot at on the India-Pakistan border, the Sena (UBT) chief said.
After the speeches were over, effigies of Ravan and a demon dubbed as "khokasur" were burnt.
The Thackeray-led Sena has often accused the MLAs of the Shinde group of taking `khokas' (crores of rupees) to switch loyalties which led to the collapse of the Thackeray government in June last year.
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Karnataka Lokayukta to register case, probe Bowring wall collapse
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Lokayukta Justice B S Patil on Thursday took serious note of the compound wall collapse at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in the city that killed seven people, and announced registration of a case on its own while warning of action against officials found responsible.
The Lokayukta, who visited the site and conducted an inspection, expressed strong displeasure over the incident and questioned the inaction of authorities, even as police and emergency teams had earlier rushed to the spot to rescue victims trapped under the debris following heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
“I will now register a suo motu case. This is not just about this one incident — such incidents must not occur anywhere in the state or the city in the future,” Justice Patil told reporters.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed as rain-battered victims had taken shelter near it, according to police. The victims included people from Kerala who were in the city on a study tour.
Calling for systemic accountability, the Lokayukta said, “Dilapidated buildings and weakened compound walls, especially in areas with public access, must first be identified. They must either be repaired, demolished, or rebuilt.”
He added that responsibility would be fixed on officials of the BBMP and the concerned departments.
Justice Patil said that hearings would be conducted and preventive action initiated, while also probing those responsible for it, how the incident could have been prevented, and why it was not prevented.
A Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) team and a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team also inspected the site, while police cordoned off Kovil Street to facilitate the probe.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the government had initiated measures following the rain-related incidents and stressed preparedness.
“Since last night we have initiated measures regarding the rains. When it rains heavily, we must be prepared, and we are working towards that,” he told reporters here.
On the wall collapse, Shivakumar said, “I will not directly blame any officials. It was an old wall, and trees had grown alongside it. Due to that pressure, it collapsed.”
The Deputy CM said instructions had been issued to identify such vulnerable structures and clear areas around them, including relocating street vendors.
Karnataka Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil said a technical assessment had been ordered.
“This is a very serious matter. Innocent people have been affected. We are issuing directions to the engineers to find out why this compound wall collapsed and to assess its structural strength,” he told reporters after inspecting the spot.
The Minister noted that the wall was ‘very old’ and required thorough examination to prevent recurrence.
Speaking to reporters, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge asked the Karnataka government to take precautions to ensure that incidents like the collapse of the Bengaluru government hospital compound wall, which caused loss of life, should not repeat.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad said the collapse raised questions about construction and maintenance practices.
“If a wall collapses within 25 years of its construction, it needs to be examined -- whether there was any technical issue, or if anything was altered inside, weakening it. All this can only come out through a technical investigation,” he said.
The Congress MLA also called for wider structural audits across the city, stating that all such structures, whether private or government, must be audited.
He urged citizens to support victims, saying it was a collective responsibility in times of crisis.
