Sena rebels want to break party: Uddhav
MUMBAI: Amid the political turbulence in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said rebel Shiv Sena MLAs who are camping in Guwahati want to “break the party”, adding that “Why should I feel bad about those who have left?”
The Sena chief and his son Aaditya Thackeray met with the Shiv Sena’s district heads on Friday afternoon as rebel Sena leader Eknath Shinde continued to tighten his grip on Shiv Sena with the number of rebels rising to 38. Aaditya attended the meeting in person and was greeted by a crowd of party workers who lashed out at the rebels, raised slogans and even wept.
“I have said it earlier also that I don’t have anything to do with power. The people who used to say that they would rather die than leave Shiv Sena have fled today,” the Shiv Sena chief said during his virtual address at the meeting.
“The rebel MLAs want to break the party. I had never thought in dreams that I would become the chief minister. I have left Varsha Bungalow but not the will to fight,” he added.
The Maharashtra CM added that those who had always declared they would rather die than leave the Shiv Sena had today simply “run away”. “How far can you go without using the names of Shiv Sena and Thackeray,” Thackeray questioned, targeting the MLAs who have deserted him.
“You can take away the flowers, the fruit and the stems of trees but you can’t destroy the roots,” he added.
Targeting Shinde, Thackeray said that he did everything for the rebel leader and yet a lot of allegations are levelled against him.
“Eknath Shinde’s son is an MP from Shiv Sena, I did everything for him. The department I had was given to Shinde,” Uddhav said at the party meeting, as quoted by ANI. Reiterating his will to fight back the rebels led by Eknath Shinde, Uddhav said he has only left the official residence of the chief minister, not the fight. “People who used to say, we will die but never leave Shiv Sena, ran away today,” the chief minister said.
Eknath Shinde’s son Shrikant Shinde, a doctor, is a Shiv Sena MP from the Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency.
Making an emotional appeal to his party workers, Uddhav said, “I am not greedy for power. People who used to say we will die but never leave Shiv Sena ran away today.”
Notably, the Chief Minister had vacated the official residence of the CM on Wednesday night and moved to his family residence ‘Matoshree’ along with his family.
Challenging the rebel leaders to go to the public without the name of his father Balasaheb Thackeray, Uddhav said, “If they have courage, don’t take Balasaheb and Shiv Sena’s names.”
The rebel group has claimed it to be the real Shiv Sena and the true followers of Balasaheb.
Thackeray, who underwent a cervical spine surgery last year, said, “I had pain in my neck and head, I was not able to work properly, I could not open my eyes but I did not care about it. Shivaji Maharaj was defeated but people were always with him.”
Earlier today, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut expressed confidence that Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government would win the floor test in the State Assembly.
He also said that the rebel MLAs have taken a very wrong step and said that the MVA government will complete the rest of the remaining years of the five-year tenure in office.”We will win on the Floor of the House, we won’t give up. They (MLAs) have taken a very wrong step. We also gave them a chance to return to Mumbai. Now, we challenge them to come to Mumbai,” he said.
The Shiv Sena leader also challenged the leaders to fight face to face.
“We won’t relent...we will win on the floor of the house (State Assembly). If this battle is fought on roads, we will win that too. We gave the opportunity to those who left, but now it’s too late. I challenge them to come on the floor of the house. MVA govt will complete rest of 2.5 yrs,” said Raut.
He further added that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar are in constant touch.
“All leaders of NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena are in touch with each other,” he added.
Raut also warned Ekanth Shinde-led rebel MLAs and said that if needed “Shiv Sena workers will come on the roads”.