Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray, in a bold appeal, asked the NCP(SP) President, Sharad Pawar, and the leader of the Congress, Prithviraj Chavan, to declare a chief ministerial candidate ahead of polls for the Maharashtra Assembly elections in return for support.
Thackeray made this appeal during the joint rally of Maha Vikas Aghadi. This is his first public event after his recent visit to Delhi, where he engaged with Congress and other INDIA bloc leaders.
With this announcement, Thackeray countered allegations that he was catering to the "trivial people" in his race for the chief ministerial seat and had bartered away Shiv Sena's beliefs.
He said there was no dissension within the MVA regarding the CM post and that their primary goal was to remove the MahaYuti government.
He hence made a strong call for unity among the MVA partners and their supporters to come together and support their candidates to defeat the MahaYuti government consisting of BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP. Thereupon, Thackeray called on the MVA partners and their supporters to avoid the dilly-dallying of internal conflicts in seat allocations, stressing what was essential is one united stand needed for the people to overcome the MahaYuti administration.
"The MahaYuti government has woken up now and is printing pictures of themselves everywhere. However, we have to gear up to fight the Assembly elections. The MahaYuti leaders are asking who is the MVA’s Chief Ministerial face. Is Uddhav Thackeray the face of Chief Ministership or who else? I want to say now as Sharad Pawar and Prithviraj Chavan are sitting here, if any of you have a face for the CM’s post, announce it, I will support,’’ said Thackeray.
He challenged the MahaYuti to face the elections now; the Election Commission should announce, he said, the Maharashtra Assembly elections immediately. This is not going to be any easy fight, he told them, underlining the difference between the Lok Sabha and this fight: whereas the former was about defending the Constitution, this is about defending the dignity of Maharashtra. He asked MVA members to prevent internal squabbles and focus on countering those who are threatening Maharashtra's interests.
Thackeray also questioned the Modi government for bringing in the Waqf Board Amendment Bill at this juncture. "Why is this bill being brought in now? If you had the courage, why didn't you pass it when you had the majority?" he asked.
He also clarified in response to MahaYuti's criticism regarding the absence of party MPs during the introduction of the bill in the Lok Sabha, saying, "The MPs were with me in Delhi: Had they been in the Lok Sabha, they would have defended the party's position. The land of temples is being encroached upon. Whether it concerns the Waqf Board or places of any religion, we will not tolerate this," he asserted.
Thackeray thanked the Muslim community for standing by them through the pandemic and various other important matters in his speech and also said that the MVA had stood up for their cause. He launched an attack on PM Modi for bringing the Waqf Board Reform Bill with the view to inflame matters and asked why the bill was not passed when there was a majority in Parliament.
He had demanded probes into Ayodhya land allotment and Kedarnath thefts while warning against the usurping of land for pet industrialists in the name of the Waqf Board Amendment Bill.
On the current reservation agitations of Maratha, OBC and Dhangar, Thackeray said that reservation limits cannot be increased by states; it was for the Centre to decide. "Increase the quota limit from above 50% by discussing it with the Supreme Court. Bring in a bill to provide for increased reservations. We back reservations for Marathas and Dhangars while keeping the OBC quota intact. But the BJP is playing politics of divide amongst communities.
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