Giving vent to his anger against ally BJP, Sena leader says his party must gain power single-handedly
Turning up the heat on his senior ally, the BJP, and hinting at the friction between the two parties, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said it was "his duty and his dream" to come to power on his own on the basis of Hindutva.
He also sought a probe into allegations against BJP ministers, including women and child development minister Pankaja Munde, who has been accused of alleged irregularities in the purchase of Chikki.
Asked what he felt about Sena legislators criticizing the BJP-led government, he said, "They are public representatives. They put forth the sentiments of the people before the government." He said this in an interview that appeared on Friday in the Shiv Sena organ Saamna.
Uddhav is the editor of the newspaper. The Shiv Sena president was interviewed by Saamna executive editor and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut.
"The veracity of these allegations must be verified immediately… this must be probed," said Uddhav, when speaking on allegations of corruption against BJP ministers in Maharashtra. "The facts revealed by an impartial probe must be brought before the people," he stressed.
"The news reports about the Chikki are horrible… was it right to purchase Chikki without tenders? Is there any problem with the Chikki that has been purchased? I read somewhere that something akin to chicken droppings was found in the chikki. Are these chicken droppings or some other waste? All this must be probed. Then people will know what went wrong," said Uddhav.
"As the Shiv Sena president, it is my duty and my dream. The Shiv Sena must single-handedly gain power in Maharashtra… gradually this will become the dream of the people of Maharashtra," said Uddhav, adding that the BJP, after its split from the Shiv Sena, had emerged as the single-largest party in the state assembly elections as it benefited from the honeymoon period of the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, which had come to power riding on an anti-Congress wave.
"The alliance broke in an inexplicable manner. The Shiv Sena fought alone…. the change in regime in Maharashtra was happening after many days. (We) supported the BJP to finish instability," he claimed, admitting to regrets over the almost two-and-half-decade-old alliance falling apart.
"Perhaps this may be thought of as eating humble pie, but I had to accept it for the sake of Maharashtra," said Uddhav, when asked about the Sena joining the state government as a junior partner.
Speaking about the demand for a uniform civil code being relegated to the back-burner by the BJP, Uddhav gave it as his opinion that in India, the sentiments of Hindus were meant to be ignored. He also stressed on the need for a law to impose mandatory family planning for all, while later pointing out how growth rate among Muslims was greater than that among Hindus.
"If you want to run the country on religious lines, then it must be on basis of Hindutva, as this is Hindustan," demanded Uddhav.
He also mentioned the agrarian crisis and agricultural distress in Maharashtra, and reiterated the demand for waiver of agricultural loans.
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