Uddhav Thackeray sought votes under Balasaheb, PM names, then dumped them: CM Eknath Shinde

Shinde said it was unfortunate that the ideals of Balasaheb Thackeray were “trampled upon just for power”. “Balasaheb Thackeray’s dream of scrapping Article 370 was done by PM Narendra Modi and you betrayed him. We stepped out of power to uphold the ideals of Bal Thackeray and Dharamveer Anand Dighe,” said Shinde, adding, “keeping Balasaheb’s ideals alive is the sole purpose of our lives.”

He further said that the government’s accessibility is indigestible to many. “The doors of Varsha (CM’s official residence) are always open for all. Earlier, it was not the case. There was a curfew-like situation. Now people feel they are heard and get assurance that their work will be done,” he said.

Shinde said BJP showed honesty in the alliance and allowed Shiv Sena to assume power unopposed in the BMC elections in 2017. “If BJP wanted to, it could have staked claim on the BMC as they had enough numbers, but Devendra Fadnavis showed his large-heartedness and allowed Sena to stake claim and today they are calling him names,” said Shinde.

On one year of his government, Shinde said the pace at which work is being done has not been seen previously. “People who only sit at home will never know what it means to have ‘Shasan Aplya Daari’ (government at your doorstep). No decisions were taken in the last 2.5 years of the previous government. To add to our pace, we now have Ajit Pawar also with us,” said Shinde. He added that his government had the blessings of the people and now has the support of over 200 MLAs.