Ready to join hands with protectors of freedom, says Uddhav; hints at alliance with Prakash Ambedkar
Mumbai (PTI): Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who heads a faction of the Shiv Sena, on Sunday alleged that the country was moving towards dictatorship and said he was ready to join hands with anyone who protect freedom.
Thackeray said this during an event, where he shared the stage with Dr B R Ambedkar's grandson Prakash Ambedkar, chief of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), for the first time, and hinted at joining hands with him.
The two leaders were together at the launch of Prabhodhankar.com, a digital platform to highlight the work of Thackeray's grandfather 'Prabhodhankar' Keshav Sitaram Thackeray.
Speaking on the occasion, Thackeray said, "The country is moving towards dictatorship. There is a need to throw out people who are greedy for power. I am willing to join hands with those who want to protect freedom."
"At present, the British policy of divide-and-rule is being followed," he said.
Thackeray described Prakash Ambedkar as a person full of knowledge and information.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Thackeray collapsed in June this year following a revolt by Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and 39 other MLAs of the party. Shinde became the chief minister after his faction joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form a government in the state.
Thackeray said he and Ambedkar were ideologically on the same platform and would work together.
''If we don't come together, we have no right to take our grandfathers' names,'' he said.
Targeting the BJP, Thackeray said, "In the present times, lynching takes place if cow meat is found, but at the same time, rapists and murderers are acquitted and felicitated after release and given tickets to contest elections. This is not Hindutva."
He was apparently referring to the release of all 11 life term convicts in the Bilkis Bano case of the 2002 riots in Gujarat in August this year and the BJP's move of fielding the daughter of a post-Godhra Naroda Patiya massacre case convict from Naroda seat of Ahmedabad for the upcoming Assembly elections.
Thackeray also questioned Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju over his remarks on the functioning of the Supreme Court collegium, and wondered if that was his personal view or that of the government.
Rijiju had recently said that the present collegium system through which judges are appointed is "opaque" and said the "fittest" persons should be appointed as judges and not someone whom the collegium knows.
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Kangana Ranaut shown black flags in Himachal's Lahaul and Spiti, BJP files complaint with CEO
Shimla, May 20: Actor Kangana Ranaut, BJP candidate from the Mandi parliamentary constituency, was shown black flags by local people and Congress workers at Kaza in Lahaul and Spiti on Monday.
The Himachal Pradesh BJP filed a complaint with the state chief electoral officer (CEO) demanding transfer of election officials and an investigation into the incident as both the BJP and the Congress were given permission to hold rallies adjacent to each other.
The Congress workers raised anti-Kangana slogans - "Kangana, go back, Kangana Vangana nahi chalegi". They were apparently enraged over her remarks on Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in April last year.
Ranaut had tweeted a meme featuring the Dalai Lama that said, "The Dalai Lama receives a warm welcome at the White house". The photoshopped picture in the tweet showed the Dalai Lama sticking his tongue out with US President Joe Biden with a comment - Both of them have the same illness, definitely they could be friends.
Following this, a group of Buddhists staged a dharna outside her office in Mumbai.
Later she apologised saying she didn't mean to hurt anyone, and it was a harmless joke about Biden being friends with the Dalai Lama.
Leader of the Opposition in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Jai Ram Thakur, who had accompanied Ranaut to Kaza to campaign for the BJP, on Monday alleged that the Congress workers tried to disturb the meeting of the BJP and pelted stones on their carcade while they were returning.
Talking to reporters, he said, "It is unfortunate that for the first time, permission was given to hold a parallel rally at the venue to the Congress where prior permission was already granted to the BJP to hold the rally.
Efforts were made to disturb our rally and the Congress workers raised shameful slogans, stopped our carcade and pelted stones, injuring one person."
Thakur added that they go for campaigning all over the state but such things have happened for the first time, which shows "frustration" of the Congress and they would take up the issue with the Election Commission.
Later, in a complaint filed with the Himachal Pradesh CEO, BJP state office secretary Parmod Kumar Thakur said the Congress workers allegedly tried to illegally restrain the political procession and even pelted stones and demanded an investigation into the incident.
"The district administration granted permission for organising a political meeting to the Congress adjacent to the place already scheduled to hold a political meeting of the BJP at Kaza under undue influence of the state government in utter violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC)", he said.
In the complaint, the BJP demanded the immediate transfer of election officials from Lahaul and Spiti and said giving permission to both the parties at the same location at the same time was a "big lapse" on the part of the Election Commission "in spite of the fact that permission to the BJP was provided first and the officers involved in this act are biased against the BJP, and free and fair elections are doubtful under the circumstances."
Lahaul and Spiti SP Mayank Chowdhary told PTI that workers of both the BJP and the ruling Congress came face to face but there was no clash and no person was injured. However, one worker sprained his leg, he added.
Bhishan Shashni, Congress election coordinator for Lahaul and Spiti claimed that the Congress workers were peacefully protesting but a large number of people, who were hurt by Ranaut's remarks about the Tibetan spiritual leader, joined the protest.
Earlier, Congress candidate from the Mandi Lok Sabha seat Vikramaditya Singh had asked why Ranaut did not visit Spiti and returned from Reckong Peo alleging that she was afraid she would be shown black flags for her remarks against the Dalai Lama.
