CM attacks former alliance partner; says Uddhav Thackeray and team were main villains in the break-up
CM Devendra Fadnavis at the BJP rally in Goregaon on Saturday. Pic/Rane Ashish
CM Devendra Fadnavis at the BJP rally in Goregaon on Saturday. Pic/Rane Ashish
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Calling the Shiv Sena a party of extortionists and corrupt leaders, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the BJP would prove its worth when the people of Mumbai elect his party to the BMC.
The CM's statement, made while launching his party's campaign in the city on Saturday, has set the agenda for the BJP's campaign, which essentially will target the Sena as a bunch of ill-doers who have ruined Mumbai. "We have no difference of ideology, but we always wanted the Sena to practice what it says. The Sena needs to change its act, which has caused more harm to the city," the CM said.
Fadnavis responded to Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in the same vein and from the same venue, where the latter announced a break-up with its decades-old partner on Republic Day.
In his 45-minute speech, Fadnavis painted the Sena as the main villain in the break-up. He challenged the Sena to tell the voters of Mumbai the real reason behind ending a pact that was endorsed by veterans in the Sena and BJP.
"We were ready to accept seats less than the Sena, but when we wanted the Sena to implement transparency in the BMC's working, it backed out from the alliance. The Sena has been unreasonable in offering us 60 seats and mocking us by saying that our strength in Mumbai was worth that figure," he said.
He also blamed the Sena for breaking the alliance during the 2014 Assembly polls. He said the break-up in 2014 proved to be an opportunity for the BJP to establish itself as number one and rule the state. "I tell you today that I would never have become CM had we contested the Assembly polls together. The people believed in Narendra Modiji and put us in power in Maharashtra," he said, adding that the BJP would install its Mayor in Mumbai as well.
The CM also went on to accuse the Sena of extortion. "They carry a saffron flag and extort the people. They don't know that the people drove the Congress and NCP out of power only because of their corrupt practices and extortion."
Metaphors rained in while describing the Sena as a bad boy in a pack of political parties. Fadnavis carried forward city BJP chief Ashish Shelar's statement that the Sena was the Kauravas of Mahabharata. "It's a dharmayuddha (war for establishing truth). And in dharmayuddha, you don't care who is your enemy," the CM said.
The CM chided the Sena by terming it as an amusement party. "The BJP is not an entertainer who will engage in a duel with the Sena. We are a party that ends corruption and that implements demonetisation." He rejected Thackeray's notion that the Sena rotted in its alliance with the BJP. "What faced a rot is the city of Mumbai. In fact, the Sena got power because a small partner like us was there with it. I hope the city learns a lesson from this and gives the BJP a chance to improve the living standard of its citizens."
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