‘Uddhav helpless, hence attending Sonia’s meeting’
Senior BJP leader and Union minister Narayan Rane on Friday targeted Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, saying that he was attending a meeting called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi due to his helplessness. If Balasaheb was alive today, he would not have compromised on Hindutva, Mr Rane said.
The Congress president on Friday held a virtual meeting, which was attended by the Maharashtra chief minister, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav and Left leader Sitaram Yechury among other prominent opposition leaders.
Mrs Gandhi’s initiative to host the interaction is seen as an indication of
the Congress’ readiness to corral the opposition parties ahead of the general election of 2024.
Mr Rane lashed out at Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on several issues including the bad condition of late Sena founder Bal Thackeray’s memorial in Mumbai.
Mr Rane visited the memorial when he began his Jan Ashirwad Yatra in Mumbai on Thursday. After his visit, a group of Shiv Sena workers “purified” the memorial by using milk and cow urine.
“I know a couple of people sprinkled cow urine there. If they are so proud about the memorial, at least take good care of it. When I went there, there was mud on the approach to the memorial. It does not have a proper photo of Balasaheb Thackeray. They have their chief minister in Maharashtra, but they can't construct a proper memorial of Balasaheb,” Mr Rane said.
Reacting to Uddhav Thackeray’s participation in the meeting called by Mrs Gandhi, he said that Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has only 56 MLAs and has no presence in the national politics.
“What can he (Thackeray) do to us? His party's MPs were elected in Lok Sabha because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s blessings. Without the support of the BJP, the Sena cannot even win five seats on its own,” the Union minister said.