Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and chief party spokesperson lashed out against senior BJP leader and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday.
Responding to BJP’s criticism about Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) founder Raj Thackeray coming together to form an alliance to contest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election, Sanjay Raut said, “You (Fadnavis) became Chief Minister only because you were with the Thackerays earlier. What have you done for the Marathi people?”
“Selling Mumbai to Gautam Adani is not a great service to the Marathi people. Is selling the entire Mumbai to a friend of Modi like Adani or feeding it to him any service done to the Marathi people? You have got a stomach ache after the Thackerays came together. We will not let Maharashtra be divided. We will never allow Mumbai to be separated from Maharashtra. Are you comparing Amit Shah with Raj Thackeray? You should not teach us at all”.
“What has the BJP and Devendra Fadnavis done for the Marathi people? Except for one Gopinathrao Munde, no one else has ever spoken about an undivided Maharashtra or raised their voice against the injustice being done to the Marathi people in the Belgaum-Karwar border issue. Neither has the current Deputy Chief Minister (Eknath Shinde) of this state nor any of his colleagues raised their voice against the injustice being done to the Marathi people,” Sanjay Raut said.
Responding to BJP’s criticism that the Thackeray cousins have come together merely for the sake of political power, Sanjay Raut said, “Devendra Fadnavis, don’t teach us. You have committed the sin of breaking Shiv Sena, which is the political organisation of the Marathi people. Maharashtra will not forgive you and will take revenge for this in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election”.
“BJP leader and Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said that we will create a separate Vidarbha by breaking up Maharashtra. As the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, was it not the duty of Fadnavis to ask Bawankule for an explanation? Never forget that you (Fadnavis) are the Chief Minister of Maharashtra because of Balasaheb Thackeray. Otherwise, you would have had to divide Maharashtra into pieces in order to become Chief Minister on one small piece of the state,” Sanjay Raut said.
“Purely, for your political ambition and greed for power, you broke up Shiv Sena, which is the representative of the Marathi people. You broke up the political organisation of the Marathi people created by Balasaheb Thackeray and gave it to a scoundrel (Eknath Shinde) by misusing the Election Commission. This shows your love for the Marathi people,” Sanjay Raut said.
Reacting to the BJP inducting leaders from other political parties, Sanjay Raut said, “They claim that the BJP is the biggest party in the world. They are the wealthiest political party in India. They have funds worth around Rs 10,000 crore. Gautam Adani is also a BJP leader. Yet, they have to lure away MPs, MLAs and workers of other parties. This is a sign of rich beggars”.
“When a rich person becomes a beggar, he behaves very helplessly and inflexibly. There is opposition to such activities from within his (Fadnavis) own party. Devyani Farande, who is a BJP MLA, has taken to the streets along with other people, protesting against leaders from other parties being taken into the BJP. Before that, Seema Ahire had taken to the streets. Without any hesitation, they purchase workers and leaders of other parties. This is something that tarnishes the tradition of Maharashtra,” Sanjay Raut said.
“Devendra Fadnavis and Narendra Modi have been talking about political character, right? Then how did you take all those whom you had previously accused of various things until yesterday into the Nashik district unit of the BJP? You have included rapists and murderers in the BJP. Does BJP leader Girish Mahajan want to start a mafia gang by taking such people into the BJP?” Sanjay Raut questioned.