Vidarbha tour: BJP engineering ‘splits, ‘stealing’ parties as it cannot win polls on its own, says Uddhav Thackeray

Uddhav asked the BJP why it needed to break parties when it was the biggest political party of the world and has “the Number 1 Prime Minister of the world”.

“Why has such a situation come before the BJP, the biggest party in the world? It is because it has the arrogance of power but no confidence in its strength. Despite being so big and powerful , they (BJP) are still nervous about winning elections. Hence, they are trying to finish its opponents and do not want anyone to stand in front of them. This is the reason that they are sending the ED and CBI and even the police behind their opponents. They are even sending messages through the police,” he said, further daring the BJP to keep aside the government machinery and come forward in the political arena.

“If you have guts and are son of a man, then keep these government agencies aside and come forward in the political arena,” he added.

The former chief minister of Maharashtra said the BJP is “impotent in politics” and it was the Shiv Sena that helped the party grow in Maharashtra but the party was now out to finish the Sena.

अरे तुमच्या नागपूरला कलंक आहे हा.. नाही नाही नाही म्हणजे हो हो हो!

– श्री. उद्धवसाहेब ठाकरे, पक्षप्रमुख pic.twitter.com/6Mr69gqCGn

— ShivSena – शिवसेना Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (@ShivSenaUBT_) July 10, 2023

“You are impotent in politics. When did you have any political strength in Maharashtra? Amravati and even Maharashtra is the bastion of the Shiv Sena. You had only two MPs in the country. No one would pay attention to you. These Shiv Sainiks, following the instructions of Sena Pramukh Bal Thackeray, took you everywhere in the state. We remained with you for Hindutva for almost three decades, helped you grow here and now you are out to finish that Shiv Sena. Is this your Hindutva,” Uddhav said.

He also reminded the BJP that Bal Thackeray had stood behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the 2002 riots in Gujarat. “When you (Modi) were zero, nothing… that time Balasaheb saved you (Modi)… Atal Bihari Vajpayee had already dumped you in the dustbin. You yourself should think about it if Bal Thackeray had not stood behind Narendra Modi, whether his name would have been known to anyone today. Whether he would have been PM today… this you should ask yourself rather than others,” he said.

Further slamming the BJP-led Centre, he said they raise contentious issues to divert the attention of people ahead of elections. “Now they have brought the issue of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and confused people in a bid to win polls, and then will drop the issue once elections are over,” the former CM said.

Uddhav also targeted the BJP for taking credit for construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, stating that “the BJP is not doing any favour by constructing the Ram Temple as it is the Supreme Court which gave a decision on the matter”.

“We had demanded a special legislation to be passed in Parliament for the temple but the government did not have guts to do that. The court ordered the construction of Ram Temple and then it’s being built,” Uddhav said.

Speaking to reporters in Amravati, Uddhav said the Election Commission (EC) can allot an election symbol to a party, but it does not have powers to change the name of a party. He asserted that the name ‘Shiv Sena’ was given by his grandfather (Keshav Thackeray) and he will not let anyone “steal” it.