Shiv Sena carried BJP on its shoulders and helped it expand base in Maha: Uddhav

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP of engineering splits in other parties and claimed it was doing so as it was not confident of winning elections on its ownThackeray who was on a tour of Maharashtras Vidarbha region also accused the BJPled Centre of raising issues like the Uniform Civil Code ahead of polls just to divert the attention of people for electoral gains PTI reportedAfter the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls Thackeray broke ties with the BJP to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA government with the help of the NCP and CongressThe MVA government collapsed in June last year after Shinde broke ranks with Thackeray Shinde later formed government in alliance with the BJPOn July 2 this year Ajit Pawar led a split in the NCP founded by Sharad Pawar and joined the ShindeBJP government as deputy chief minister Eight other NCP MLAs also took oath as ministers in the state cabinetAddressing Shiv Sena UBT workers in Amravati on the second day of his Vidarbha tour Thackeray asked the BJP why it needed to split other parties when it claimed to have the number one prime minister in worldYou are stealing the Shiv Sena you have also stolen the NCP and you will steal some other tomorrow You sell off what belongs to the country and rob what belongs to others he allegedWhy this time has come before the BJP the biggest party in the world Its meaning is very simple you have satta ki masti pride of power and no atmavishwas selfconfidence he saidAlso readElection Commission doesnt have powers to change partys name Uddhav ThackerayThe BJP even after becoming so big and powerful still feels it wont get elected he saidHence they dont want anyone opponent before them by using the ED Income Tax and police Thackeray said and dared the BJP to keep these agencies aside and come out in the political arenaThackeray claimed the Shiv Sena had carried the BJP when it was nothing in Maharashtra on its shoulders and helped it expand base in the stateYou are trying to finish us off in politics this is your Hindutva We were with you for 25 to 30 years and now you are planning to finish off the Shiv Sena which was with you when you were zero he said hitting out at its former saffron allyBalasaheb Thackeray saved you otherwise former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had then thrown you in the dustbin If Balasaheb Thackeray had not stood behind the present prime minister then would he have been the PM now This you should ask yourself rather than asking others he saidFurther slamming the BJPled Centre he said they raise contentious issues to divert the attention of people ahead of electionsNow they have brought the issue of Uniform Civil Code UCC and confused the people in a bid to win polls and then leave the issue aside once the elections are over the former CM saidAs soon as elections approach issues like construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya will be raised he saidThe BJP is not doing any favour by constructing the Ram temple as it is the Supreme Court which gave a decision on the matter he saidWe were demanding a special legislation for the Ram temple construction but they government did not have the guts to bring it Thackeray saidWhen the fight for the Ram temple was going on these so called Hindutwadis were hiding in a rat hole he claimedThackeray also claimed the central government schemes were bogus and asked his party workers to reach out to the people and tell them the truthHe noted there are allegations of corruption in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC during the COVID19 pandemic when the coalition led by him was in power in the stateIf you want to find out corruption in the BMC then also find out corruption in every municipal corporation in the state and the PM CARES fund set up by the Centre during the pandemic he saidIn a veiled attack on Amravati MP Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana Uddhav Thackeray said some bogus people are saying he has come to beg for votesYes I have come to beg for votes because I consider voters as the king and dont consider them as slaves who will vote on bogus certificates by taking money he saidMay be now the time has come that they will need saline in politics after seeing the crowd and peoples enthusiasm he quippedSpeaking to reporters in Amravati Thackeray also said the Election Commission EC can allot an electoral symbol to a party but it does not have powers to change the name of a partyHe said the name Shiv Sena was given by his grandfather Keshav Thackeray and he will not let anyone steal itThe Sena UBT leader also said he was receiving huge response and support from people during his visit to Vidarbha PTI