Shah refers to Uddhav as duplicate Shiv Sena chief, INDIA bloc as Aurangzeb fan club

Mumbai: Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday targeted Uddhav Thackeray saying that he is Balasaheb’s son, but he does not have his father’s legacy. Today Narayan Rane, Eknath Shinde and Raj Thackeray are carrying forward Balasaheb’s legacy, he said. Addressing election rallies for Narayan Rane in Ratnagiri and Sanjaykaka Patil in Sangli, the BJP leader called INDIA bloc “Aurangzeb fan club” and urged people to reelect Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister for the third time by voting for BJP and alliance partners’ candidates.

Referring to Uddhav Thackeray as the leader of “duplicate Shiv Sena”, Mr. Shah said, “Uddhav Thackeray cannot support Citizenship Amendment Act, removal of Article 370, ban on Popular Front of India (PFI), abolishing of triple talaq and construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya because he is worried about his new vote bank. Sharad Pawar and Congress party’s vote bank is now Uddhav’s new vote bank, which does not oppose Pakistan or unfurl the tricolour in Kashmir.”

The BJP leader further said that though Uddhav is Balasaheb Thackeray’s son, he does not carry his father’s legacy. He said Uddhav Thakeray cannot take V.D. Savarkar’s name in his public addresses to protect his alliance with Sharad Pawar and Congress. “How can you be Shiv Sena Pramukh (chief), if you feel ashamed of Veer Savarkar’s name? You are running a fake Shiv Sena. The real Shiv Sena is with Eknath Shinde,” he said.

Mr. Shah said that though Uddhav is Balasaheb’s son, the Shiv Sena founder’s legacy is now with Raj Thackeray, Eknath Shinde and Narayan Rane. 

Mr. Rane, who was the second chief minister from the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, is now contesting the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg Lok Sabha seat as a BJP candidate. He had quit Shiv Sena in 2005 after falling out with Uddhav Thackeray and joined the Congress.

Similarly, Raj also left Shiv Sena in 2006 because of his differences with cousin Uddhav and sharted his own party ‘Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’. He has declared his support for Mr. Modi in this election.

Mr. Shinde parted ways with Uddhav in June 2022 and formed a government in Maharashtra with the BJP’s support. Subsequently, the Election Commission and Maharashtra Assembly Speaker have ruled that the Shinde faction is the real Shiv Sena. The Uddhav Thackeray faction is now using a new party name (Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)) and new election symbol (flaming torch).

Mr. Shah said that the INDIA bloc is “Aurangzeb fan club”, which cannot run the country. He urged people to make Mr. Modi Prime Minister once again to ensure India’s security and prosperity. He asserted that Uniform Civil Code will be implemented across the country after Mr. Modi wins a third term. 

“Before 2014, Pakistan-based terrorists had a free run in India, but when terror attacks in Uri, Pulwama happened, Pakistan had forgotten that Mr. Modi was at the helm and not Manmohan Singh. Mr. Modi conducted surgical strikes inside Pakistan and destroyed terrorist camps,” the Union minister said.