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Journalism of Courage
Emphasising that the Election Commission of India has no right to take away the name Shiv Sena, Uddhav Thackeray, president of Shiv Sena (UBT) accused the BJP of keeping the nation “permanently unstable”.
In an interview with Saamana editor Sanjay Raut, which was published in the Sena mouthpiece on Saturday, Uddhav said, “The BJP has a policy. It wants to retain instability among people of different castes and at the economic level. It wants the country to remain permanently unstable, and takes advantage of this instability to govern the masses. The BJP has adopted the British policy of divide and rule.”
“They mouth words like batenge tu katenge (divided we fall) and then themselves resort to dividing people during the Assembly elections. After the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP brought the policy of divide and rule in the Assembly elections,” the Sena (UBT) chief said.
Thackeray said attempts are being made from “Delhi to Maharashtra to finish off the Thackeray brand”. “This is because they do not want any other name other than their own. They are comparing themselves to God,” he said.
Uddhav said that Thackeray stands for struggle, and the name will continue to survive. “’They stole everything, but they will not be able to steal the Thackeray surname. How will they steal the people’s love from us? How will they steal the trust that people have in us?” he asked.
Speaking about the identity of Shiv Sena (UBT), Uddhav said, “They will not be able to finish off Sena. They have failed to create a rift between me and the people. They (Shinde Sena) will have no option but to merge with the BJP.”
Uddhav said the Election Commission can freeze the party symbol, but cannot take away the name Shiv Sena. “The Election Commission cannot take away the name Shiv Sena from us. It has no right to do so. This is because the name has been given by my grandfather and my father. If I change the name of the Election Commission, will it be so?”
“We have always functioned as per democratic norms. We have not violated any norms. If we have not committed any mistake under the Constitution, then they cannot take away our name. The voting percentage polled by any party is related to the symbol of the party and not the name. Whatever the EC has done is illegal,” he added.
