Uddhav thackeray calls EC decision dangerous for democracy, says he will move SC
Mumbai, Feb 17: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said the Election Commission's order recognising Eknath Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena was "dangerous for democracy", and he would challenge it in the Supreme Court.
Speaking at a press conference hours after the EC decision, Thackeray accused the poll panel of having become the Union government's slave.
"It may even take away our symbol of flaming torch tomorrow," he said.
He also appealed to his followers not to give up, and fight the battle to win. The party and people were with him, he said.
'Let the thieves rejoice for a few days," he said, reacting to the setback to his faction.
The Supreme Court is the last hope to ensure that democracy is alive in the country, Thackeray said.
If this hope vanished, we should stop holding elections forever and become a one-man rule, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi should announce that after 75 years of independence the country was not a democracy any longer but moving towards tyranny, he added.
"Those who think they have got state recognition for their theft will always remain thieves,' Thackeray said, referring to rebel Sena MLAs led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Shinde.
He also accused Shinde of stealing party founder Balasaheb Thackeray's photo, party and symbol, adding that he will not be able to "digest this theft for long".
"The party and people are with me. We complied with everything that the EC sought and submitted all papers about membership and organisational strength, and still the EC ruled against us," Thackeray said.
The EC's decision in the Shinde faction's favour was also an indication that civic polls in Mumbai and elsewhere will happen soon, Thackeray said.
The EC decision was a conspiracy as recently deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union minister Narayan Rane had publicly said that the Shiv Sena's symbol will be given to the Shinde faction, he alleged.
"The Shinde group might have stolen the bow and arrow symbol on paper but the real bow and arrow which Balasaheb Thackeray used to worship is with me," Thackeray said.
He described the prevailing situation like the one that existed on June 19, 1966, when Shiv Sena was formed.
"The Shiv Sena will rise again and will not be finished, he said.
"Maharashtra has always fought against injustice and people will teach the thieves a lesson," he said.
After the press conference, Thackeray visited his father Balasaheb Thackeray's memorial at Shivaji Park late in the evening and paid respects.
Meanwhile, reacting to Uddhav Thackeray's remarks, chief minister Shinde, who celebrated the EC order with his supporters at his official residence `Varsha', said he freed the bow and arrow symbol which "Uddhav Thackeray had mortgaged to Congress and NCP in 2019".
Thackeray had broken the alliance with the BJP in 2019 and formed government with the Congress-NCP.
"You might be the owner of (Bal Thackeray's) property, but not of the party and ideology,'' Shinde said.
''How can the elected MLAs, MPs, corporators be thieves? It is time you introspected about what went wrong," Shinde advised his former leader.
''If we are all thieves, who are you," the CM asked.
Reacting to the development, Thackeray's ally and NCP president Sharad Pawar said there was no need for discussion after the EC order.
''Get a new symbol, people will accept it," he said.
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India to get first national security semiconductor fabrication plant
Wilmington (PTI): Under a transformative collaboration with the US, India will get a national security semiconductor fabrication plant that will produce chips for use in military hardware and next-generation telecommunications.
The India-US joint project was announced following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden in Wilmington on Saturday.
A joint fact sheet on Modi-Biden talks said the two leaders "hailed" the semiconductor project as a "watershed arrangement".
It will be the first ever India-US semiconductor fabrication partnership.
It is the first time ever the US military has agreed to do a partnership for these highly-value technologies with India and it is a watershed moment as it is as significant as the civil nuclear deal, people familiar with the matter said.
"President Biden and Prime Minister Modi hailed a watershed arrangement to establish a new semiconductor fabrication plant focused on advanced sensing, communication, and power electronics for national security, next-generation telecommunications, and green energy applications," the fact sheet noted.
It said the "fab, which will be established with the objective of manufacturing infrared, gallium nitride and silicon carbide semiconductors, will be enabled by support from the India semiconductor mission as well as a strategic technology partnership between Bharat Semi, 3rdiTech, and the US Space Force."
The Fab becomes not only India’s first, but one of the world's first multi-material fabs for national security, the people cited above said.
The fact sheet said Modi and Biden praised combined efforts to facilitate resilient, secure, and sustainable semiconductor supply chains including through GlobalFoundries' (GF) creation of the GF Kolkata Power Center in Kolkata.
It said the project will enhance mutually beneficial linkages in research and development in chip manufacturing.
"The leaders welcomed steps our industry is taking to build safe, secure, and resilient supply chains for US, Indian, and international automotive markets, including through Ford Motor Company's submission of a Letter of Intent to utilize its Chennai plant to manufacture for export to global markets," the document said.
It said Modi and Biden commended ongoing efforts to build more expansive cooperation around 5G deployment and next-generation telecommunications.
This includes the US Agency for International Development's plans to expand the Asia Open RAN Academy with an initial USD 7 million investment to grow this workforce training initiative worldwide, including in South Asia with Indian institutions.
