QUIT AND DEFEAT BJP, SHAH DARES UDDHAV
MVA is a three-wheeler whose tires are punctured
Amid the widening rift between estranged allies, the Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah on Sunday dared Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to resign; he further threw at the three ruling partners -- the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress -- an open challenge to fight together and defeat the BJP in Maharashtra.
Shah, in his address at a meeting with booth chiefs in Pune, slammed the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government for its shoddy performance and claimed that the state’s development has come to a grinding halt.
Shah, who was on a twoday visit to the state, used the metaphor of a three-wheeler auto to give an insight into the working of the MVA government. ''Its three tires are heading in different directions and all its tires are punctured. It is not running and is only causing pollution,'' he explained.
"The health of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is not good, may God give him good health. But when his health was fine, the public used to ask where is the government? In 2019, I had clearly said that the Chief Minister will be from the BJP but in their zeal to capture power, they compromised with Hindutva," Shah pointed out.
He reiterated that the BJP had never promised the CM’s post to its former ally; rather, the Shiv Sena, after the 2019 assembly elections, betrayed the BJP and formed the government in the state.
''I had come to Maharashtra in 2019 and spoken to the Shiv Sena. It was decided that Devendra Fadanvis would be the chief minister. But the Shiv Sena did an abrupt turnaround. It's okay to say I lied, that's okay. You lied because you wanted to be the Chief Minister, you left Hindutva,’’ he claimed.
Shah took a dig at the MVA government saying that the ruling alliance has come up with a new definition of DBT. '' 'D' means dealer instead of direct, 'B' means broker and 'T' means cut in transfer. For the BJP-led government, DBT means 'Direct Benefit Transfer' but for the MVA it is a business of dealers, brokers and transfers. Tell me what do the people of Maharashtra want?’’ he demanded.
Shah’s sharp attack on the Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackeray has come at a time when the latter is warming up to the Congress. Also, at a time when the Shiv Sena is making a strong pitch for a strong opposition front with the Congress party at its core, to take on the BJP in the next general elections.
Shah also targeted the Congress and argued that the party had repeatedly insulted Dr BR Ambedkar "when he was alive and even after his death". He noted that the chief architect of the constitution had been conferred with the Bharat Ratna the highest civilian award - posthumously by a non-Congress government.
"Five sites connected with Ambedkarji were converted into 'smriti sthal' only after the BJP came to power at the Centre and in various states," he said. He also noted that the Samvidhan Divas or Constitution Day had not been celebrated before Narendra Modi became Prime Minister.