Call me if ready to give CM’s post, otherwise don’t: Uddhav to BJP
"I don't want to break the alliance, but I want the BJP to implement what was decided during the Lok Sabha elections," Thackeray told a meeting of Sena MLAs held in Mumbai today.
Uddhav told the meeting, he was ready to hold discussions with the top brass of BJP if they agreed to what was decided during the Lok Sabha polls. (Express File photo)
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After the 14th day of the deadlock over power sharing in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray Thursday said he did not intend to break the alliance but expected BJP to keep its promise— of equal power sharing— made during the Lok Sabha elections.
“I don’t want to break the alliance, but I want the BJP to implement what was decided during the Lok Sabha elections,” he told a meeting of Sena MLAs held in Mumbai today.
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Uddhav told the meeting, he was ready to hold discussions with the top brass of BJP if they agreed to what was decided during the Lok Sabha polls. “We will hold discussions with BJP provided they agree to what was decided during the Lok Sabha polls. They can call me up if they decide to give us Chief Minister’s post for 2.5 years, otherwise don’t call me up,” he said.
Uddhav said, “Our party has been borne out of self-respect. We don’t want to corner BJP. CM’s statement was entirely inappropriate…If he is trying to prove that I was lying, then this is not appropriate. If BJP does not want to keep its word as decided, then what is the point in holding discussion,” he told the meeting. The Sena has been maintaining that equal power sharing was decided during the Lok Sabha polls including sharing of Chief Minister’s post for a period of 2.5 years.
MLAs who attended the meeting today, said they will back whatever decision the Sena chief takes. “We have left it to our chief to take the decision in the current situation. We will support whatever decision he takes,” said MLA Abdul Sattar, who attended the meeting.
Addressing a press conference after the party meeting, Sena leader Sanjay Raut said there would be no compromise on Chief Minister’s post. “At the MLAs meeting, party supremo Uddhav Thackeray said discussion will begin if BJP leaders agree to 50-50 formula and Chief Minister’s post as decided during Lok Sabha elections,” he said.
Raut further added: “Uddhav Thackeray made it clear that there will be no change in Sena’s stand. All the MLAs in one voice supported his stand. Whatever decision he takes in Maharashtra’s interest, is acceptable to us.”
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Asserting that Maharashtra will soon get a government and Sena Chief Minister will provide the necessary strength to it, Raut told reporters: “Here after, Maharashtra will be led by a Sena Chief Minister.” Commenting on the Mahayuti in the state, the Sena leader said, “On October 24, Uddhav Thackeray said he will not commit the sin of breaking the alliance. He said though there is an alternative option available, I will not go for it…From that day till today, his stand remains the same.”
Alleging that attempts are being made to impose President’s rule in Maharashtra which is an insult to the people of Maharashtra, Raut said, “If BJP has the numbers, it should present it to the Governor…If doesn’t have, it should make it clear….There is a vast difference between 2014 and 2019. They had tried to install a minority government then…Now no illegal act will be allowed.”
Backing Raut’s statements, another MLA Uday Samant said all the MLAs have given the party chief the free hand to take the final decision.
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“They are taking the names of Chhatrapati Shivaji and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and are resorting to the tactics of not allowing others to form the government. This is unconstitutional act. This is an old game and the game will not run for long. The constitution of this country belongs to the people and is not the property of anyone,” Raut asserted at the presser.
Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades.
Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives.
Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees.
During Covid, over 50 doctors were asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each for getting a job with PCMC. The PCMC administration alerted Manoj More who did a story on the subject, asking then corporators how much money they demanded....The story worked as doctors got the job without paying a single paisa.
Manoj More has also covered the "Latur drought" situation in 2015 when a "Latur water train" created quite a buzz in Maharashtra. He also covered the Malin tragedy where over 150 villagers had died.
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