Uddhav Declares Maharashtra's Intolerance of 'Fakery' Amid LS Polls

Uddhav Thackeray criticized PM Modi for labeling his Shiv Sena faction as "fake" and himself as "fake son" of Bal Thackeray. He accused Modi of ignoring inflation and focusing on cow protection. Thackeray questioned the delay in MSP for onion farmers and criticized the inconveniences caused by Modi's visits. He alleged Modi's involvement in the Shiv Sena split and accused him of pressuring the judiciary. Thackeray also mocked the government's report on Muslim population growth and criticized Modi's comments about Adani and Ambani funding the Congress. He criticized the ruling dispensation for failing to rename Aurangabad Airport and attacked the BJP for the Maratha quota agitation lathi charge.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on Friday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for calling his party the ''duplicate Sena'' and labelling him the ''fake son'' of Bal Thackeray and asserted Maharashtra would not tolerate such insults.

Modi used to attack then prime minister Manmohan Singh for not talking about inflation but he himself now speaks only about ''gai'' (cow) and not ''mehangai'' (price rise), Thackeray said here.

''Modi took my signature (for nominations) in 2014 and 2019 but he now calls me fake son of Balasaheb Thackeray and my party as nakli Shiv Sena. In Maharashtra we have a culture of respecting each other and the state's people will not tolerate such insults,'' Thackeray claimed.

Onion farmers in Maharashtra have faced losses of Rs 1,100 crore and now the Modi government says it will give MSP, so what was the ruling dispensation doing for the last 10 years, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader asked.

Addressing a rally for the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate from Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat Chandrakant Khaire, he also said people are inconvenienced during the visits of Modi and cited the closure of roads leading out of the airport during the latter's recent poll visit to Latur.

''Why so much fear when you move with so much security? Maharashtra has bent Modi. During the poll period, all facilities should be given equally to all. If we cannot use some facility, it should not be allowed to them (ruling party leaders) as well,'' Thackeray said.

''Modi is the mastermind of the plot to take away Shiv Sena from me. (Chief Minister) Eknath Shinde even thanked Modi and Amit Shah for giving the Shiv Sena to him. They used Election Commission and assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar for this purpose,'' he alleged.

Thackeray went on to claim Modi was putting pressure on the judiciary by calling his faction fake repeatedly and the Supreme Court must take note of this. The case pertaining to the split in the Shiv Sena in June 2023 is being heard by the apex court at present.

Citing a report of the Economic Advisory Council of the PM (EAC-PM), which stated there has been a rise in Muslim population and fall in Hindu percentage, Thackeray mocked the Union government and said how was it possible ''when you have been in power for 10 years''.

Hitting back at PM Modi's comments in a recent television interview about how he had inquired about his health, Thackeray claimed ''when I was ill and could not move much, you sowed the seeds of betrayal using your leaders'', an apparent reference to the rebellion by Shinde and the split in the Shiv Sena.

He also attacked Modi over his statement about ''Adani and Ambani giving money to the Congress'' and said the Centre must get the ED and CBI to probe if such a thing has taken place.

Speaking at a rally in Telangana on Wednesday, PM Modi accused the Congress of having a ''deal'' with Ambani and Adani, and asked if the party has received ''tempo loads of black money'' from the two businessmen for its leader Rahul Gandhi to stop ''abusing'' them.

Thackeray slammed the ruling dispensation and said it had failed to change the name of the airport here despite the district now being called Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Speaking about the Maratha quota agitation, Thackeray expressed support for activist Manoj Jarange and attacked the BJP for the police lathi charge on agitators in Jalna last year.

''People have not forgotten this. But the BJP continues to mislead by saying it will provide reservations to the Maratha community. If they can take away the rights of (Delhi CM Arvind) Kejriwal, then why can't they give quotas,'' he said.

Thackeray, who was unable to attend a rally in Jalna due to inclement weather, asked people there to ensure the defeat of sitting BJP MP and Union minister Raosaheb Danve.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)