Barely a few hours after the inauguration of the first phase of the Samruddhi Mahamarg at Nagpur, The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) chief Mr Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday fired a fresh salvo at the Governor Mr BS Koshyari and questioned how come a person, who insulted the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who is the inspiration of Maharashtra, is seen sharing a platform with the Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi. ‘’What does this mean?’’ he asked. Mr Thackeray targeted the Governor over his recent controversial statement that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is an icon of older days.
‘’On the one hand, the Maharashtra-Karnataka border issue is burning. No one is talking about it. The Karnataka Chief Minister is making statement after statement. However, our Chief Minister does not say anything about it. What is his role?’’ he asked. He criticised the Chief Minister Mr Eknath Shinde for his silence saying that he should clarify his stand on the border issue, especially in the wake of the Karnataka CM has laid claims over villages and cities from the state. He was speaking after a few activists from the Ambedkar movement joined the Shiv Sena UBT.
‘’There has been disregard for Maharashtra. The man who insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj sat next to Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, so what does Maharashtra understand?’’asked Mr Thackeray angrily.
‘’When the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute is on fire. But no one will speak for Maharashtra. The Chief Minister of Karnataka is talking like he is having fun. But our Chief Minister is reading a script as if it was written for him. He should speak on the issue on the lines of the petition filed in the court. They (Karnataka) want Solapur, they want Akkalkot, how dare they. This is despite there being a BJP government at the centre. BJP has a government in Karnataka. Even though there is Mindhe Sarkar (referring to Shinde Fadnavis government formed after the rebellion started by Eknath Shinde) in Maharashtra,’’said Mr Thackeray.
Mr Thackeray said both leaders (Shinde and Karnataka CM Basavraj Bommai) have the same leader (Prime Minister Narendra Modi). He took a swipe at Mr Shinde saying that once his leader was Balasaheb Thackeray now his leader is Modi. ‘’Modi is the leader of Bommai (Karnataka CM Basavraj Bommai), he is talking so loudly, why is he (Shinde) silent?’’he asked.
Mr Thackeray took strong objection to Mr Bommai’s statement made on Friday that meeting with the home minister Mr Amit Shah would have no difference and his government would not compromise on the border row.
‘’The Prime Minister came and went, some people spoke, it (Samruddhi Mahamarg) would not have happened had they not been there. This is not a reality. There have been many Chief Ministers in Maharashtra till date,’’ noted Mr Thackeray.
Referring to the Maha Vikas Aghadi morcha slated for December 17 in Mumbai, Mr Thackeray said it is against the traitors of Maharashtra.
