Mumbai: ‘Their descendants too will be called traitors’

Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray at his party’s Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park, on Tuesday. Pic/Sameer Markande

Lambasting the turncoats from his party who had switched allegiances, leading to the collapse of his government, former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray asserted that the label of gaddar (traitor) was a stain that could not be cleansed by any means and it had not only been affixed to them but also to their descendants.

Thackeray on Tuesday addressed the first traditional Dussehra rally of his party at Shivaji Park in Dadar after losing the Shiv Sena name and iconic bow-and-arrow symbol as the Election Commission of India (ECI) had officially recognized Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's faction as the "real" Shiv Sena. Promoting his party's new symbol, the flaming torch, Thackeray said, "All your hands are flaming torches. Burn those who mess up with Maharashtra, and overturn their government by voting against them. This is the 57th Dussehra rally of the Shiv Sena. In all these years, we have kept alive the tradition and legacy that Balasaheb Thackeray handed over to us. There have been attempts to end this legacy, but they failed."

Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray at his party's Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park on Tuesday. Pic/Sameer Markande

Potshots at Shinde, PM

Throughout his speech, Thackeray aimed barbs at the Shinde-Fadnavis government in the state as well as the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre and their governance. Responding to PM Modi's jibes about dynasticism, Thackeray said, "He talks about gharane shahi [dynasticism], then I would like to say that I am proud of it. I am proud of my father, mother and grandfather and the legacy they have left behind for me to take forward. People who do not believe in the family system should abstain from passing judgment on dynasties. And have you heard of rulers, leaders whose family history is not very well known... Hitler, Putin, Saddam Hussein, Stalin... nobody knows much about their families. Today, Germans are ashamed that Hitler ruled their country. One must not become a blind follower and hand the reigns to them as tomorrow these people with no well-known family names will leave you to die and never turn back."

Also read: ‘Uddhav has betrayed his father'

Quota agitation

Thackeray also touched upon the issues of farmers as the Maratha reservation agitation during his address. He said, "Manoj Jarage Patil is taking ahead the Marathe agitation very well. He has brought together the Dhangar community too. I cannot forget how a lathi-charge was done on Maratha protesters at Jalna. There was one attack on Jallianwala Bagh, and this one at Jalna, when protestors were beaten up indiscriminately. Even when I was the CM, the problem and protests existed. But I never ordered violence or a lathi-charge on the protesters. These are the same policemen who follow orders. Who was this General Dyer of Jalna who ordered the lathi-charge?"

The masses that gathered to hear the address

He added, "What is the BJP? The BJP or even its previous incarnation, Jana Sangh, was never associated with the freedom struggle or even the Samyukta Maharashtra movement here. They just forge alliances with different people and parties like they did with us in Maharashtra and the Akali Dal in Punjab. They had even allied themselves with Nitish Kumar in Bihar. They cause destruction among their allies and then divide them and leave."

The rally was flagged off on Tuesday by former Mayor Kishori Pednekar. Other leaders who addressed the rally were Ambadas Dave, Sushma Andhare, Nitin Mangude Patil, Bhaskar Jadhav and Sanjay Raut. The rally ended with Shiv Sainiks burning an effigy of ‘Khokasur', a demon named after the turncoats instead of the traditional Raavan model.