Even Pak will tell whom real Shiv Sena belongs to, but EC can't as it suffers from cataract: Uddhav
Jalgaon, Apr 23: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said seeing the support he is getting from people, even Pakistan will tell whom the real Shiv Sena belongs to, but the Election Commission (EC) cannot do so as it is "suffering from cataract".
He also said that his party and supporters would ensure that "traitors" would be politically finished, a reference to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his supporting MLAs, whose rebellion led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in June 2022.
In a big blow to the Thackeray-led faction, the Election Commission earlier this year allotted the 'Shiv Sena' name and its poll symbol 'bow and arrow' to the group led by CM Shinde.
Addressing a mammoth rally of his party at Pachora in Jalgaon district of north Maharashtra, Thackeray thanked his supporters for coming to the public meeting in large numbers even if he had nothing to offer after he lost the party name and symbol to the rebel group.
"Seeing the number of people present here, even Pakistan will know who the real Shiv Sena is, but not the Election Commission which is suffering from cataract," he said.
He exhorted his supporters to express their anger over the rebellion by CM Shinde and 40 party legislators through the ballot boxes to ensure that they are politically finished.
Thackeray said the party's "vajramuth" (iron fist) was a very important part of the MVA alliance and dared the ruling Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to conduct elections.
He said his party's mashal (flaming torch) will set the throne of Shinde and BJP ablaze.
Those who won elections on his party's ticket betrayed him, but those who got these people elected were with him, he asserted.
"We will see to it that you are finished. We have cleansed the blot on the state created due to the treachery. Maharashtra is the land of brave people and not traitors," Thackeray said, and asked the party workers if they would fight till the victory.
The former chief minister asked the BJP to clarify if it would contest the state Assembly elections next year under the leadership of Eknath Shinde.
"State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule has said that Shinde's party will be allotted only 48 seats (out of the total 288). Will the BJP fight the election under a person contesting only 48 seats?" he asked.
Thackeray said he would travel throughout the state to appeal to people to defeat the traitors.
He also said he hopes to get justice from the Supreme Court.
"But these people (opponents) are working on the possible fallout of the apex court verdict and speculations have started over another split in the Shiv Sena and its allies Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will meet the same fate," Thackeray claimed.
He also asked the BJP to declare what Hindutva meant to it.
"Does Hindutva mean a cow slaughter ban in some parts of the country and attacks on women, murder of people on the suspicion of carrying cow meat?" he asked.
Thackeray said saffron doesn't look nice in the hands of traitors. "Since they have nothing of their own, they steal from others," he alleged.
He also said the intention behind holding the Maharashtra Bhushan award in an open ground amid the scorching summer heat last Sunday, which was attended by lakhs of people, was not good.
Fourteen people died after suffering from sunstroke at the event held at Kharghar in Raigad district, where Union minister Amit Shah honoured social worker Appasaheb Dharmadhikari with the Maharashtra Bhushan award.
Terming BJP 's politics as "appalling", Thackeray said it forces opposition leaders to join the party by levelling allegations of corruption against them.
"But once such leaders are inducted into the party fold, these corrupt people become clean while the political careers of good people in their own party is destroyed," he alleged, referring to NCP leader Eknath Khadse, who was earlier with the BJP.
"BJP doesn't want their allies and also good people in their own party. I fail to understand what kind of politics this is," Thackeray said.
Referring to former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satyapal Malik's revelations on the Pulwama terror attack, Thackeray said, "Union minister Amit Shah recently wondered why Malik didn't speak when he was the governor. But Malik has already replied to it claiming he was asked by the prime minister to keep mum."
The challenge before the country is not the BJP, but overcoming the damages it has done to the state and the country while being in power, he said.
"They (BJP) are misleading people to such an extent that the latter don't even realise how they are being harmed," Thackeray charged.
Earlier, Thackeray unveiled the statue of late R O Patil, who was a two-time MLA from Pachora belonging to the Shiv Sena, and asked his supporters to back his daughter Vaishali Patil for the Pachora constituency in Assembly polls.
Jalgaon district comprises two Lok Sabha and 11 assembly seats. The two Lok Sabha seats are Jalgaon and Raver, both represented by the BJP.
Of the total 11 Assembly seats - in the 2019 polls, the Shiv Sena won four seats - Chopda-ST (Latabai Sonawane), Jalgaon Rural (Gulabrao Patil), Erandol (Chimanrao Patil) and Pachora (Kishor Patil). All four have switched over to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
