“Shiv Sena Infamous Because Of Betrayal”: Uddhav Thackeray To E Shinde’s Maidan

Thane:

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday inaugurated a medical camp in Maharashtra’s Thane city on the eve of the birth anniversary of late Anand Dighe, a highly popular politician and considered a mentor of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Anand Dighe’s massive popularity had made Thane one of the safest seats in the undivided army, but Shinde’s rebellion the previous June saw a large majority of the rank-and-file in the region defect to the latter’s Balasahebchi Shiv Sena.

The mega medical camp organized to mark Mr Thackeray’s visit as well as Dighe’s anniversary, which falls on Friday, is being seen as an attempt to rebuild the Shiv Sena (UBT) in Thane.

He paid floral tributes to Dighe at Anand Math, the de facto center of the Shiv Sena movement in Thane for decades.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Thackeray said the Shiv Sena and Maharashtra have been maligned because of “betrayal and defection”, a reference to the toppling of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government by MR Shinde and 39 MLAs.

Mr Thackeray said Thursday’s visit was a brief one to take care of the “health of the citizens here”, but promised he would return to address a mass meeting to take care of the “political health of Thanekarans”.

“I am satisfied that despite the present bad situation, Shiv Sena has not deviated from its goal. I am proud of it. Shiv Sena supremo (Bal Thackeray) has taught us that 80 per cent is social work and only 20 per cent is political work. Real The soldiers are with us,” he said.

Those who left preferred to sell themselves, MR Thackeray said, with the crowd shouting “Rs 50 crores” when he asked them if they knew what the sale price was.

Mr Thackeray said slogans worth around Rs 50 crore (taunting BSS leaders) were being heard even in the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra in J&K, claiming a video of it was shown to him by the party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut had gone.

He said, “These slogans have traveled across the country. But in the process, Maharashtra as well as the Shiv Sena has been maligned. There is no need to mourn for those who have gone because the real soldiers ‘Mashal’ ‘ (party symbol) will be illuminated.” Thackeray’s faction),” he insisted.

Thackeray was accompanied by Thane Lok Sabha MP Rajan Vichare and Nationalist Congress Party MLA Jitendra Awhad.

Later, while addressing a function at a Jain temple, he said that he had been introduced as an “atithi” (guest) among the first speakers, but wanted to reiterate that he was one of them.

He said that his father also came to this temple to seek blessings.

Mr. Thackeray said that he had visited the famous ‘Srinathji’ (at Nathdwara in Rajasthan) eight days back and now he has come here again to seek blessings.

When a speaker at the function said that the people gathered were ready to give their blood for him, Mr. Thackeray said that all he wanted was their votes.

The former chief minister said the bond between the Jain community and his father would be further strengthened, for which he had come here to seek the blessings of the ‘acharyas’.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)