Mumbai, Feb 18 (IANS) Shiv Sena president and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday stepped up attacks against Shiv Sena(UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, saying that in 2019 he discarded Balasaheb Thackeray’s thoughts and also compromised on Hindutva and the party’s core belief for the sake of grabbing power.
“Now the sky is torn, where will he patch it up?” Shinde asked and ridiculed Uddhav Thackeray’s damage control exercise against the backdrop of the meetings convened by him with the Shiv Sena UBT MPs and legislators amid large-scale exodus from the party.
Shinde told reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting that the Shiv Sena party is a party based on the thoughts of Balasaheb Thackeray and Dharmaveer Anand Dighe. “The Shiv Sena is one party that gives strength to the workers. It is not about the thoughts of ‘You fight, we take care of the clothes,” he said while criticising his former boss Uddhav Thackeray. “Today, we welcome a large number of people joining the Shiv Sena, but they (Uddhav Thackeray) should introspect about the mass exodus from the party,” he said.
His fresh salvo came four days after he had accused Uddhav Thackeray of pursuing dynastic politics by compromising Balasaheb Thackeray’s beliefs. He criticised Uddhav Thackeray for aligning with Congress and NCP in 2019 to assume power by mortgaging the party symbol bow and arrow. He also claimed that Uddhav Thackeray’s agenda is politics while theirs is the development of Maharashtra.
“Their agenda is corruption first, while ours is nation first. The anti-Maharashtra alliance was destroyed because of a beard in Maharashtra and the development train started,” he claimed. Shinde said, “Mahayuti’s agenda is to transform Maharashtra by bringing about change in the lives of the common man, provide justice to them and ultimately take the state forward against the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s agenda of grabbing power.”
He clarified that there is only one war room to review important infrastructure projects in the state and no new war room has been set up at Mantralaya. He has thereby replied to the media reports of separate war rooms formed by the chief minister and two deputy chief ministers. Shinde however, said that a coordination room has been set up to review the functioning of the portfolios of Shiv Sena ministers, adding that it is attached to the war room situated in Mantralaya.
He denied media reports about the Cold War in the Mahayuti but claimed that the war was against the people who are anti-development of Maharashtra.
Shinde said that the Deputy Chief Minister Medical Assistance Cell has been operationalized as per the government decision of October 31, 2023. Already the Chief Minister Medical Assistance Cell is functional at Mantralaya. He reiterated that the Mahayuti’s agenda is to develop the state. “There is no parallel mechanism in the Mahayuti. Applications for medical assistance received at the Deputy Chief Minister Medical Assistance Cell will be processed and they will be provided aid,” he said.
The Deputy CM said that Shiv Sena Ministers and leaders would go to Prayagraj for the holy dip during Maha Kumbh. He also said he has directed the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation to set up a separate cell so that the workers of closed factories or those under liquidation get their dues as soon as possible.
–IANS
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