Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has slammed Eknath Shinde, alleging that since he became the chief minister of Maharashtra, many industrial projects from the state have gone to Gujarat – the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
“When I was the Chief Minister, did you hear even a single news that any project from here went to Gujarat? In the last two and a half years, since this Mindhe (Shinde) became Chief Minister, so many industries have gone to Gujarat. Everything is being taken to Gujarat,” Thackeray was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
"Mumbai's economic centre has also been taken to Gujarat. We are not just fighting for power, but our fight is against the looting of Maharashtra," Thackeray said in Ramtek, where he unveiled the statue of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
The former chief minister alleged that in past two years Maharashtra failed to bag projects and industries it should have to neighbouring Gujarat. Vedanta-Foxconn had inked a pact with Gujarat in September 2022 for a ₹ 1.54 lakh crore semiconductor project in Ahmedabad.
Thackeray also accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of wanting to ‘finish’ him and NCP leader Sharad Pawar.
"Mohan Bhagwatji (RSS chief), do you agree with the BJP's Hindutva? Goons are coming into this BJP, corrupt people are coming. Do you agree with this? Amit Shah is coming to finish me and Sharad Pawar, will you let us be finished? Only my people can finish me, not Amit Shah. If my people tell me to sit at home, I will sit at home, but if someone from Delhi tells me to sit at home, my people will make them sit at home. After our government came to power, I will stop the loot going on in Maharashtra," he said.
The term of the Maharashtra legislative assemblyis ending on November 26, and elections have to be completed before that, according to Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar.
The election is expected to witness a two-way fight between the MVA coalition, of the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP - Sharad Pawar and the Congress, and the Mahayuti Alliance of the BJP, Shiv Sena-Eknath Shinde and NCP-Ajit Pawar.
In 2019 the BJP and undivided Sena coalition had come to power in the state but later split.
Thackeray also slammed Shinde over the collapse of the Shivaji statue at the Malvan fort in Sindhudurg and termed it an embarrassment for the state.
A 35-foot-tall statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Sindhudurg district collapsed on August 26. It was unveiled on December 4 last year as part of Navy Day celebrations and was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The collapse of the statue of the Maratha state's iconic founder had sparked a significant political war between leaders of the state, with opposition criticising the Eknath Shinde-led government for the collapse.
(With ANI inputs)
