Need new ‘mili-juli’ govt at Centre, not one with absolute majority: Uddhav

Slamming state legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar over the delay in adjudication of the Shinde Sena MLAs disqualification case, Uddhav said that “serious questions would be raised on the existence of the Supreme Court if the tribunal (headed by the Speaker) has not been following the apex court’s order in the matter”. “I have hopes from the SC…,” he said.

The Dussehra rally organised by the Shiv Sena (UBT) at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Tuesday. Pradip Das

Uddhav also asserted, “This (central) government must change. But, we do not want a one-party government with the majority… which will act in a brutal (autocratic) manner. We want a strong and stable government, but it should not be a single-party government. We want a ‘mili-juli sarkar’ (coalition government), which will take everyone along and would be inclusive.”

Slamming the BJP over the contract awarded to the industrialist Gautam Adani-led firm for the Dharavi redevelopment project, he said that “if the project was undertaken to usurp Mumbai, the Sena (UBT) will hit the streets”. Without naming Adani, Uddhav said, “Now they are planning to usurp Dharavi too… Seems like this development project has been undertaken just to benefit a friend of yours (the PM Modi-led government)… We will not let this happen… Dharavi must be developed. The residents of Dharavi must get houses… at affordable prices…”

During the over 45-minute speech, Uddhav also thanked and “indirectly” extended support to Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, who is leading the agitation for reservation in the state. The Sena (UBT) chief said that the “BJP only believes in destruction”, and warned Jarange-Patil “to be careful”.

Reiterating that the “BJP’s objective is to loot Mumbai and have control over it”, Uddhav said that “Sena (UBT) will not let that happen”.

“They (central government) could not break/separate Mumbai from Maharashtra, so, they are trying to abolish the city’s autonomy. There are no corporators in the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) today, elections have not taken place, the administrator is running the civic body… Severe corruption and loot are happening… I cannot understand if Mumbai is still the financial capital of the country. All the good financial centres have been shifted out of Maharashtra, including Mumbai. The Film City project is also in Uttar Pradesh… But, if you (the Centre) take away anything that belongs to Mumbai, we will not sit quietly till we bury you in Mumbai itself…,” he was quoted as saying.

The Uddhav-led Shiv Sena faction is part of the Opposition’s INDIA bloc, which is set to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.