Mumbai: The leaders of the two rival Shiv Sena factions addressed the burning issue of reservations for Marathas at their Dussehra rallies in Mumbai Tuesday, while also lambasting each other.
This came as the “deadline” set by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil expired Tuesday; he had threatened to launch another round of hunger strikes and protests from Wednesday if Marathas did not receive OBC certificates. The government, however, has few options going forward.
While Chief Minister Eknath Shinde Tuesday reiterated his commitment to the Maratha community, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray challenged Shinde to take the issue to the Centre and ensure that quotas are implemented.
Their verbal offensives also garnered much attention, with Shinde saying he wouldn’t be surprised “if they (Sena UBT) hug terrorist organisations such as Hamas, Hizbul Mujahideen, Hamas”, while Thackeray made comparisons to Adolf Hitler while attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two leaders also spoke on issues ranging from the 2024 general election to the Shinde government’s alleged neglect of Mumbai.
This is the second time the rival Senas have held separate Dussehra rallies following the vertical split in the party last year. The Shiv Sena (UBT) held its rally at its traditional ground — Shivaji Park in Dadar, where the party has been marking Dussehra for 57 years — whereas the Shinde-led Sena made use of Azad Maidan near CST station.
On the reservation issue, Shinde made an emotional appeal to Marathas by swearing in the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji and asking the community not to take extreme steps and trust the government.
“I am strongly in favour of reservation for Marathas. I am a Maratha myself and know the problems and sorrows of the community. We have set up the Justice Shinde Committee, which is working around the clock. The apex court has even admitted a curative petition on the issue. We will not deprive anyone of reservation. “
Thackeray, meanwhile, expressed support for Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange-Patil and urged people not to take Shinde at face value.
“The BJP only believes in destruction. I want to warn Jarange-Patil to stay away from believing anyone. If this matter has to be solved, then it should be done in Parliament.”
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On Modi, 2024 & disqualification petitions
Thackeray — whose Shiv Sena (UBT) is now a part of the INDIA bloc of opposition parties — hit out at the Modi-led NDA government at the Centre, accusing the prime minister of behaving in an autocratic manner and saying that power shouldn’t be concentrated in the hands of one party.
“We need a mili juli sarkar. When there is an alliance with different parties, it provides for a more stable government.”
He further said that Hitler had also once won votes in the name of development, but now Germans feel ashamed of him as everyone knows what he did when he came to power.
Shinde, meanwhile, criticised the INDIA bloc and said the Union government had performed well under Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
“They have taken revolutionary decisions for the country and hence this Ravan of INDIA will be destroyed. And in 2024, the country will once again choose PM Modi and his government will come back for the third time. We will win 45 Lok Sabha seats. Maharashtra stands behind Narendra Modi.”
Thackeray also brought up the pending disqualification petitions against Sena legislators following the split in the party last year. He criticised the assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar for the delay in deciding the petitions, saying that instead of justice, he was giving “tareekh pe tareekh” (repeated delays).
The Supreme Court has also asked the Speaker to provide a schedule for the proceedings by 30 October, which is when the next hearing of the matter will take place in court.
‘Projects being taken away from Mumbai’
Thackeray once again blasted the Shinde government for its alleged anti-Mumbai stance.
He accused the BJP of undermining Mumbai’s importance by taking all big ticket projects to Gujarat, and said the CM and his MLAs were helping the party in this regard.
“I cannot understand if Mumbai is still the financial capital of the country or not. All good projects are being taken away and being shifted. Now there is even a plan to shift Film City to Uttar Pradesh”.
He also accused the CM of looting Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s money.
“The BJP wants to loot Mumbai and have control over it. They could not break Mumbai away from Maharashtra and are hence trying to finish off its authority. You are undermining the civic body here and getting NITI Aayog to decide its future. We will bury them deep if they try to finish Mumbai.”
He also challenged the government to hold simultaneous elections including those of the BMC and other corporations, as well as the Vidhan Sabha and the Lok Sabha. Elections to many civic bodies are pending in Maharashtra.
Thackeray also spoke about the work he had done as chief minister during the Covid-19 pandemic — saying the Mumbai model had received global appreciation — whereas Shinde alleged that the Thackerays had used Covid as a cover for corruption.
(Edited by Rohan Manoj)
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