Only people of state can finish us, not Shah: Uddhav Thackeray

Union Home minister Amit Shah has given directions to the BJP functionaries in a closed-door meeting to “finish off” Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar, alleged Thackeray on Sunday, saying that only people of the state can do that.

Speaking at Ramtek where he unveiled the statue of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Thackeray said, “Amit Shah is coming to finish us. But only people can finish us, not Amit Shah. He (Shah) recently came to Nagpur from Delhi and asked the functionaries to break the leaders from opposition parties to weaken Uddhav and Pawar Saheb in the polls. Why say it in closed-door meetings, come out in public and say it. If the people from Delhi are going to talk about finishing off me, the people will make them sit at home.”

Adding that the fight is neither his nor Pawar’s, Thackeray said the fight it for saving Maharashtra from being looted by people from Delhi, he said, “The people of the state will decide who will be finished off in the elections.”

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Asking RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat if the BJP’s “Hindutva” of breaking the Opposition parties and poaching their leaders is acceptable, Thackeray said, “They don’t want Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar because they want to loot Maharashtra. But this Maharashtra belongs to Shivaji Maharaj… if you try to loot it , then people will not spare you.”

Thackeray also slammed Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over the collapse of the Shivaji statue at the Malvan fort in Sindhudurg and termed it as an embarrassment for the state.