Uddhav's party won LS seats in Mumbai on votes of minorities: Fadnavis
Mumbai, Jun 13: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said candidates of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), which prides itself on its sons of the soil agenda, won Lok Sabha elections in Mumbai on the votes of minorities as well as non-Marathi and non-Hindi speakers.
In the recently concluded general elections, the Shiv Sena (UBT) won three of the six seats in the metropolis, while the BJP, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Congress emerged victorious in one constituency each.
The opposition's victory was not due to the votes of Marathi speakers or common Mumbaikars or the north Indian population that has lived in the city for generations, Fadnavis said in his speech.
The opposition won on the votes of those for whom the Shiv Sena (UBT) had started using "janaab" for Bal Thackeray instead of the more popular Hindu Hridaysamrat, the senior BJP leader asserted.
Uddhav Thackeray had also stopped beginning his speeches with "my Hindu brothers and sisters" in the last six months in order to win the support of the minorities, Fadnavis further claimed.
The fake narrative of the opposition during the Lok Sabha poll campaign about the BJP wanting to change the Constitution and end reservations hit the ruling party hard, he admitted. The BJP contested 28 out of the 48 seats in Maharashtra but could win on just nine, down from the 23 it wrested in the 2019 edition.
"The Mumbai Graduates' constituency elections have been announced and we should win it again as we had given it to our former political ally (Shiv Sena) some years back. Now, it is time to win it back. Our candidate Kiran Shelar will win to prove that the fake narrative against the BJP will not work henceforth," Fadnavis asserted.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the first head of government who implemented the Constitution in the entire country. Earlier, due to Article 370, the Constitution was not applicable in Jammu and Kashmir. After its (Article 370) scrapping, the Constitution is now applicable there as well," he claimed.
The BJP got 26 lakh votes in Mumbai as against MVA candidates gaining 24 lakh votes but the "arithmetic of votes helped them, and we (ruling BJP and Shiv Sena) could win only two seats", Fadnavis said.
"It is also a good indicator that the Worli assembly seat of Aaditya Thackeray could give a lead of only 6000 votes to their candidate (form South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat). It clearly means the Sena's charisma is over, and the BJP will make inroads in the civic polls," the deputy CM said.
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Ladakh a living land of dharma for centuries: Amit Shah
Leh/Jammu (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday described the return of sacred relics of Lord Buddha to Ladakh after 75 years as a "historic reunion" and said that the Union Territory has remained a "living land of dharma", preserving and nurturing Buddhist knowledge for centuries.
Stressing the relevance of Buddha's teachings in modern times, Shah said the message of peace, compassion and the middle path was even more important today than it was 2,500 years ago.
"Ladakh has been a living land of dharma for centuries. When the Dalai Lama comes here, he says this land is not merely a geographical land but a living laboratory of Buddhist culture and compassion," Shah said, speaking after the inauguration of the sacred holy relics exposition of Tathagata Buddha and the 2569th Buddha Purnima celebrations at Jivetsal in Leh during his two-day visit to Ladakh.
Calling Ladakh a land of compassion, he said this land has preserved and nurtured knowledge. "Whenever Buddhism faced crises, this land worked to protect the teachings of Buddha. And when peace returned, it helped to expand and carry forward that preserved wisdom," he added.
"Unless one internalises knowledge and makes it a part of oneself, liberation is not possible. Knowledge is incomplete without spiritual practice, while spiritual practice without knowledge is blind. Therefore, the union of spiritual practice and knowledge is the right path. Even after all this, if there is no moral discipline, one cannot lead a truly wise life. The basis of a life of wisdom is moral discipline," he said.
Shah said it was through Ladakh and adjoining routes that the teachings of Tathagata Buddha, which originated in India, spread to China and several other countries.
"The message that emerged from the land of Ladakh has become a guiding force for many people around the world to take their lives forward. The presence of these sacred relics in Ladakh reminds us that India's civilisation has, for thousands of years, given the message of peace and coexistence," he said.
He said that in a diverse region like Ladakh and Kargil, this message becomes even more relevant. "This heritage still tells us today that amidst conflict and unrest, only the path of peace and compassion can provide solutions."
He said the return of the relics on Buddha Purnima had enhanced the significance of the festival for the people of Ladakh.
"These sacred relics have come to Ladakh after 75 years. It is as if Buddha himself is present here today," Shah said, adding that followers of Buddhism and people of other faiths in Ladakh and Kargil would draw spiritual energy from the relics.
Highlighting Ladakh's role in the spread of Buddhism, Shah said Kashmir was once an ancient centre of Buddhist studies, Mahayana philosophy and Buddhist art, from where Ladakh first came into close contact with Buddhism.
He said Emperor Ashoka's envoys laid the foundation of Buddhist influence in Ladakh through Kashmir and Gandhara, while Mahayana Buddhism expanded in the region during the Kushan period between the first and third centuries CE.
The Silk Route linking Kashmir, Leh, Yarkand, Khotan and Tibet became a channel not only for trade but also for ideas, monks, manuscripts and artistic traditions, Shah said.
He added that later, Tibetan influence between the seventh and tenth centuries further enriched Ladakh through Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions.
Stressing the relevance of Buddha's teachings in modern times, Shah said the message of peace, compassion and the middle path was even more important today than it was 2,500 years ago.
"Amid conflict and unrest, only the path of peace and compassion can provide solutions," he said.
Shah also appealed to the Ladakh administration to ensure complete arrangements so that followers of all faiths, especially Buddhists, could visit and pay obeisance to the relics.
#WATCH लेह, लद्दाख: केंद्रीय गृह मंत्री अमित शाह ने कहा, "जब दलाई लामा यहां आते हैं तो वे कहते हैं कि यह भूमि केवल भौगोलिक भूमि नहीं है। यह भूमि बौद्ध संस्कृति और करुणा की जीवंत प्रयोगशाला है। इस भूमि पर ज्ञान का संरक्षण हुआ है... भारत की सभ्यता हजारों वर्षों से शांति का संदेश… https://t.co/2nwG0w2CE6 pic.twitter.com/W13itRBqeX
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