Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray announced that he is ready to quit if any one MLA says he is not capable for the CM post. In the mid of ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra, following revolt by his party’s senior leader Eknath Shinde, claiming with 40 MLAs, he has given an emotional appeal asking the `rebels’ discuss with him.
Addressing the people of Maharashtra on his Facebook page, Thackeray has asserted that Hindutva is the ideology and identity of the Shiv Sena and he didn’t deviated from this path. Soon after, he has moved from his official residence `Varsha’ at Malbar Hills, to his home ‘Matoshree’ in Bandra, last night.
“If you (rebel MLAs) say, then I am ready to leave the CM post. It’s not about numbers but how many are against me. I will leave if even one person or MLA is against me. It’s very shameful for me if even a single MLA is against me,” Thackeray said.
“I am ready to give my resignation to the MLAs, they should come here and take my resignation to Raj Bhavan. I am ready to leave the post of Shiv Sena party head also, not on the saying of others but my workers,” he added.
Reacting to the criticism that the Sena was moving away from its core ideology, Thackeray asserted that Hindutva is the very identity of the party. “Some people say that it’s not Balasaheb’s Shiv Sena. They should tell what were the thoughts of Bala Saheb. This is the same Shiv Sena that it was at his time ‘Hindutva’ is our life,” he said.
The Sena chief said he became the chief minister of Maharashtra accidentally after he was told to take up the responsibility by NCP supremo Sharad Pawar. “When all three parties came together in 2019, Sharad Pawar told me that I had to take the responsibility of CM post. I didn’t even prior experience. But I took the responsibility. Sharad Pawar and (Congress president) Sonia Gandhi helped me a lot; they kept their faith in me,” he added.
The chief minister had a telephonic conversation with Shinde on Tuesday evening, but the rebel leader reportedly stood firm on his demand that the Sena should come out of the MVA alliance and join hands with the BJP to form the government.
34 MLAs pledged support to Shinde
Meanwhile, rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, on Wednesday, received the backing of 34 MLAs who signed a resolution, unanimously stating that they are with him in his act of revolt and demand that the Sena forms the government in alliance with the BJP. In the letter, they said they have been facing “humiliating questions” from their voters over the alliance formed with the NCP and the Congress.
The resolution, signed by 34 MLAs, read: “We, the following members of the 14th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly belonging to the Shiv Sena. We are notified as to the members of the Shiv Sena Legislature Party. We unanimously elected Eknathrao Sambhaji Shinde on 31 October 2019 as group leader of the Shiv Sena Legislature Party. There was a pre-poll alliance between the Bhartiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena Party for the 14th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, 2019.”
“There has been great dissatisfaction prevalent amongst the members of our party viz. Shiv Sena and our party Cadre at large, on account of Corruption in the Government, and administration regarding police posting. Corruption by then Home Minister Mr. Anil Deshmukh (who is in Jail), and sitting Minority Minister Mr. Nawab Malik (who is also in jail for involvement with Underworld Don Dawood Ibrahim). Apart from the above reasons our party cadre faced tremendous harassment and distress on political as well as personal grounds from the Opposition.”
They pointed out that the alliance with the Congress and NCP caused “enormous discontent” among Sena cadre, and claimed that the ideals of Sena were compromised while forming the alliance. “For last two-and-a-half-years our party and its leadership have compromised party principles by aligning with the contrasting ideologies for the sake of achieving power.” They claimed that the ideals of Bal Thackeray were defeated because of the alliance.
