Tag: Uddhav Thackeray

  • Probe agencies acting like ‘Centre’s pets’, court bail order on Raut guide for country: Uddhav

    Probe agencies acting like 'Centre's pets', court bail order on Raut guide for country: Uddhav

  • BJP slams Uddhav for ‘Marathi Muslim’ article in ‘Saamana’; calls it politics of appeasement 

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday accused the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) of indulging in the politics of appeasement after the latter’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ carried an article on “Marathi Muslims” supporting the former chief minister.

    ‘Saamana’ carried a front-page article on October 22 about the Marathi Muslim Seva Sangh backing Uddhav Thackeray, adding that the outfit is active in Mumbai, Konkan, Marathwada, Vidarbha and western Maharashtra.

    “The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Party wants to garner Marathi and Muslim votes, but it cleverly played with the words by calling them Marathi Muslims,” Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar said at a press conference.

    He said his party would organise ‘Jagar Mumbaicha Yatra’ in November to spread awareness among the residents of the metropolis about this “politics of appeasement” as well as “corruption” in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

    Shelar said Thackeray was getting frustrated as he was staring at defeat in the BMC polls.

    The city’s civic body, currently under an administrator after the terms of corporators ended, has been ruled by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena for several years now.

    “This is appeasement. Balasaheb (Thackeray) never believed in garnering votes in the name of religion and caste. Why did you (Uddhav) ditch this? Why do you have to seek votes in the name of caste and religion,” Shelar questioned.

    “Then why can’t you (Uddhav) have Marathi Jains, Marathi north Indians? Why the fissure between Marathi and Gujarati? Why did you quit Marathi Hindu?” Shelar added.

    Asserting that the BJP stood for “Marathi-Mumbaikar”, Shelar said his party will not ask for votes in the name of caste and religion but in the name of development.

    Shelar also labelled former state environment minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray’s tour of rain-affected areas in Maharashtra as “teaser and tokenism”.

    The BJP leader questioned why farm loans were not cleared by the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi despite assurances.

    MUMBAI: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday accused the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) of indulging in the politics of appeasement after the latter’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ carried an article on “Marathi Muslims” supporting the former chief minister.

    ‘Saamana’ carried a front-page article on October 22 about the Marathi Muslim Seva Sangh backing Uddhav Thackeray, adding that the outfit is active in Mumbai, Konkan, Marathwada, Vidarbha and western Maharashtra.

    “The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Party wants to garner Marathi and Muslim votes, but it cleverly played with the words by calling them Marathi Muslims,” Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar said at a press conference.

    He said his party would organise ‘Jagar Mumbaicha Yatra’ in November to spread awareness among the residents of the metropolis about this “politics of appeasement” as well as “corruption” in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

    Shelar said Thackeray was getting frustrated as he was staring at defeat in the BMC polls.

    The city’s civic body, currently under an administrator after the terms of corporators ended, has been ruled by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena for several years now.

    “This is appeasement. Balasaheb (Thackeray) never believed in garnering votes in the name of religion and caste. Why did you (Uddhav) ditch this? Why do you have to seek votes in the name of caste and religion,” Shelar questioned.

    “Then why can’t you (Uddhav) have Marathi Jains, Marathi north Indians? Why the fissure between Marathi and Gujarati? Why did you quit Marathi Hindu?” Shelar added.

    Asserting that the BJP stood for “Marathi-Mumbaikar”, Shelar said his party will not ask for votes in the name of caste and religion but in the name of development.

    Shelar also labelled former state environment minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray’s tour of rain-affected areas in Maharashtra as “teaser and tokenism”.

    The BJP leader questioned why farm loans were not cleared by the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi despite assurances.

  • 22 Shinde MLAs are planning to join BJP, claims Sena mouthpiece  

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI:  The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has sought to set the cat among the pigeons on Sunday by claiming that 22 MLAs belonging to the rival Shinde-led camp are likely to join the BJP and that Shinde himself would be replaced by a BJP leader as the new chief minister of Maharashtra.

    The claim appeared in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana on Sunday. “The 22 MLAs of the Shinde factions will form a group that will merge with BJP. The Shinde-BJP government is a temporary arrangement. Shinde will be asked to step down anytime and a BJP leader will be sworn in as the CM,” says the article.

    It also claimed citing “top BJP leaders” that Shinde would become like Union minister and RPI leader Ramdas Athawale. “Shinde will not have any option except to merge his remaining group with BJP as well to become “another Narayan Rane” for the BJP.

    “Shinde has no influence in Delhi. It is Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis who gets the credit for any work. The differences between CM Shinde and his deputy are growing. Recently, there were clashes over the top cop posting,” claimed Saamana. It said Fadnavis, who is also the home minister, did not follow the advice of Shinde while transferring an IPS officer. “An annoyed Shinde left Mumbai and went to his hometown in Satara,” Saamana said.

    The Sena mouthpiece also commented on Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in the same article. “The Governor was very prompt, super, and pro-active during the Uddhav Thackeray government. Where is he now, why is he not giving advice to the Shinde-Fadnavis government?” The Uddhav-led Sena has been aggressively targeting the Shinde-BJP alliance especially after the BJP had to withdraw from the contest for the Andheri-East constituency.

    The BJP’s decision has ensured a smooth victory for Rutuja Latke, the Sena candidate of the Uddhav faction. The Shinde faction had already expressed support for the BJP, so in the party’s withdrawal, the Shinde faction too is thought to have been a part of the decision-making.

    The polls for the richest civic body the BMC are due soon. All major Maharashtra parties are poised to enter the fray in the hope of taking a shot at the top position. That could explain why the Uddhav faction is going hammer and tongs against the ruling alliance in a bid to project itself as the standalone claimant to the BMC.

    MUMBAI:  The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has sought to set the cat among the pigeons on Sunday by claiming that 22 MLAs belonging to the rival Shinde-led camp are likely to join the BJP and that Shinde himself would be replaced by a BJP leader as the new chief minister of Maharashtra.

    The claim appeared in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana on Sunday. “The 22 MLAs of the Shinde factions will form a group that will merge with BJP. The Shinde-BJP government is a temporary arrangement. Shinde will be asked to step down anytime and a BJP leader will be sworn in as the CM,” says the article.

    It also claimed citing “top BJP leaders” that Shinde would become like Union minister and RPI leader Ramdas Athawale. “Shinde will not have any option except to merge his remaining group with BJP as well to become “another Narayan Rane” for the BJP.

    “Shinde has no influence in Delhi. It is Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis who gets the credit for any work. The differences between CM Shinde and his deputy are growing. Recently, there were clashes over the top cop posting,” claimed Saamana. It said Fadnavis, who is also the home minister, did not follow the advice of Shinde while transferring an IPS officer. “An annoyed Shinde left Mumbai and went to his hometown in Satara,” Saamana said.

    The Sena mouthpiece also commented on Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in the same article. “The Governor was very prompt, super, and pro-active during the Uddhav Thackeray government. Where is he now, why is he not giving advice to the Shinde-Fadnavis government?” The Uddhav-led Sena has been aggressively targeting the Shinde-BJP alliance especially after the BJP had to withdraw from the contest for the Andheri-East constituency.

    The BJP’s decision has ensured a smooth victory for Rutuja Latke, the Sena candidate of the Uddhav faction. The Shinde faction had already expressed support for the BJP, so in the party’s withdrawal, the Shinde faction too is thought to have been a part of the decision-making.

    The polls for the richest civic body the BMC are due soon. All major Maharashtra parties are poised to enter the fray in the hope of taking a shot at the top position. That could explain why the Uddhav faction is going hammer and tongs against the ruling alliance in a bid to project itself as the standalone claimant to the BMC.

  • Right gets Left support: As Thackeray group faces crucial Assembly bypoll, it gets CPI backing

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: As the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena gears up for its most crucial electoral battle after the June revolt – the Andheri (East) Assembly bypoll on November 3 – it has got the backing of the Communist Party of India (CPI), whose candidate the saffron outfit defeated in 1970 that triggered the decline of Left forces in Mumbai.

    On Wednesday, a delegation of CPI leaders met former chief minister Thackeray at his residence here and extended the Left party’s support to his faction’s candidate in the Maharashtra Assembly bypoll in Andheri (East), a suburb of Mumbai.

    CPI’s Mumbai secretary Milind Ranade said his party has pledged support to Thackeray for the bypoll necessitated by the death of sitting Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke.

    “The CPI will stand with the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) in its fight against the BJP,” Ranade said.

    The former CM’s faction has been given the name Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) by the Election Commission (EC) as an interim arrangement.

    Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who led a revolt against Thackeray’s leadership, heads the rebel faction of the party and his group is known as Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena.

    Thackeray’s candidate is being backed by the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) — constituents of the MVA — and some factions of the Republican Party of India (RPI).

    Taking a dig at the Thackeray-led faction, Deepak Kesarkar, a state minister and spokesperson for the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, on Thursday said taking support of the CPI was akin to “murder of the party’s ideology”.

    The CPI and the Shiv Sena, which still swears by Hindutva, had been arch political foes and their fierce rivalry often spilled on to the streets of Mumbai, leading to violent clashes in the past.

    In his book ‘Shiv Sena’ Kal, Aaj ani Udya’, senior Sena leader and former chief minister Manohar Joshi, rites that for his party, the Communists were always their “number one enemy”.

    “In the interest of the city, the country, it was necessary to save them from the red trap,” Joshi said.

    In the 1970 Parel Assembly bypoll in Mumbai, necessitated after the death of Communist leader Krishna Desai, the Shiv Sena defeated the CPI in what was a crucial victory for the then-fledgling party founded by Bal Thackeray in 1966.

    In that bypoll, Shiv Sena’s Wamanrao Mahadik defeated Sarojini Desai, the widow of Krishna Desai who wielded considerable influence among mill workers in the metropolis.

    The Communist leader was killed in the Tavripada area of Lalbaug.

    According to journalist Vaibhav Purandare, the author of ‘Bal Thackeray and the Rise of the Shiv Sena’, 19 persons, suspected to be Shiv Sainiks, were arrested for Desai’s murder.

    Three of them were acquitted, while the rest convicted.

    Prakash Akolkar, veteran journalist and Shiv Sena biographer, in his book ‘Ha Shiv Sena Navacha Itihas Aahe’, writes that many newspapers had come down heavily on the Shiv Sena after Desai’s murder.

    Like now, when the Shiv Sena is being backed by a number of parties, Purandare says, a 13-party combination had supported Sarojini Desai in the 1970 bypoll.

    After its victory in the bypoll 52 years ago, the Shiv Sena established itself as a dominant political force in the Lalbaug-Parel belt in the heart of Mumbai.

    For the Shiv Sena, a victory in the 1970 bypoll was crucial for its expansion and now in 2022, the outcome of the November 3 electoral battle will be important for the 56-year-old outfit’s survival and its future.

    MUMBAI: As the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena gears up for its most crucial electoral battle after the June revolt – the Andheri (East) Assembly bypoll on November 3 – it has got the backing of the Communist Party of India (CPI), whose candidate the saffron outfit defeated in 1970 that triggered the decline of Left forces in Mumbai.

    On Wednesday, a delegation of CPI leaders met former chief minister Thackeray at his residence here and extended the Left party’s support to his faction’s candidate in the Maharashtra Assembly bypoll in Andheri (East), a suburb of Mumbai.

    CPI’s Mumbai secretary Milind Ranade said his party has pledged support to Thackeray for the bypoll necessitated by the death of sitting Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke.

    “The CPI will stand with the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) in its fight against the BJP,” Ranade said.

    The former CM’s faction has been given the name Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) by the Election Commission (EC) as an interim arrangement.

    Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who led a revolt against Thackeray’s leadership, heads the rebel faction of the party and his group is known as Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena.

    Thackeray’s candidate is being backed by the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) — constituents of the MVA — and some factions of the Republican Party of India (RPI).

    Taking a dig at the Thackeray-led faction, Deepak Kesarkar, a state minister and spokesperson for the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, on Thursday said taking support of the CPI was akin to “murder of the party’s ideology”.

    The CPI and the Shiv Sena, which still swears by Hindutva, had been arch political foes and their fierce rivalry often spilled on to the streets of Mumbai, leading to violent clashes in the past.

    In his book ‘Shiv Sena’ Kal, Aaj ani Udya’, senior Sena leader and former chief minister Manohar Joshi, rites that for his party, the Communists were always their “number one enemy”.

    “In the interest of the city, the country, it was necessary to save them from the red trap,” Joshi said.

    In the 1970 Parel Assembly bypoll in Mumbai, necessitated after the death of Communist leader Krishna Desai, the Shiv Sena defeated the CPI in what was a crucial victory for the then-fledgling party founded by Bal Thackeray in 1966.

    In that bypoll, Shiv Sena’s Wamanrao Mahadik defeated Sarojini Desai, the widow of Krishna Desai who wielded considerable influence among mill workers in the metropolis.

    The Communist leader was killed in the Tavripada area of Lalbaug.

    According to journalist Vaibhav Purandare, the author of ‘Bal Thackeray and the Rise of the Shiv Sena’, 19 persons, suspected to be Shiv Sainiks, were arrested for Desai’s murder.

    Three of them were acquitted, while the rest convicted.

    Prakash Akolkar, veteran journalist and Shiv Sena biographer, in his book ‘Ha Shiv Sena Navacha Itihas Aahe’, writes that many newspapers had come down heavily on the Shiv Sena after Desai’s murder.

    Like now, when the Shiv Sena is being backed by a number of parties, Purandare says, a 13-party combination had supported Sarojini Desai in the 1970 bypoll.

    After its victory in the bypoll 52 years ago, the Shiv Sena established itself as a dominant political force in the Lalbaug-Parel belt in the heart of Mumbai.

    For the Shiv Sena, a victory in the 1970 bypoll was crucial for its expansion and now in 2022, the outcome of the November 3 electoral battle will be important for the 56-year-old outfit’s survival and its future.

  • Uddhav Sena writes to EC over symbol and name, alleges bias 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena on Thursday alleged bias by the Election Commission in the allocation of party symbols and name as it battles for control of the organisation with the group led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

    “Several communications and the actions of the Hon’ble Commission have given rise to a serious apprehension of bias in the mind of the Respondent,” the Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena said in a letter to the Election Commission through its lawyer Vivek Singh.

    Last week, the Commission had barred the rival factions of the Shiv Sena from using the party name and the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol, pending the settlement of the dispute over the “real Shiv Sena”.

    Earlier this week, the Commission had allotted ‘Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ as the name and ‘flaming torch’ as the election symbol for the Thackeray faction.

    The Shinde faction got the name ‘Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena’ and ‘two swords and a shield’ as the election symbol.

    Singh, the lawyer for the Thackeray faction, contended that the Commission did not grant the party adequate time to file its reply on Shinde’s claims to the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol for the Andheri East bypoll in Maharashtra.

    The Thackeray faction also alleged that the Commission had uploaded its letter conveying the preference for poll symbols and party names on the poll authority’s website, making it accessible to everyone, including the rival faction.

    “This was done even before a decision was taken by the Commission regarding allocation of symbols and possibly even before the Petitioner had submitted his own list of proposed symbols and names, thus giving the Petitioner and his group a clear unfair advantage over the Respondent,” Singh said.

    He claimed that the Shinde faction had “very tellingly” given the same first choice of name, and the same first and second choice of the symbol as of the Thackeray faction.

    “This could not have happened but for the fact that the Hon’ble Commission shared a privileged communication from the Respondent herein on its public website. This one-sided and unfair disclosure gave the Petitioner information that he immediately used to his advantage by ensuring that his preferences regarding name and symbol blocked the Respondent from being allotted his first preference,” Singh said.

    The Commission’s letter allotting the ‘flaming torch’ to the Thackeray faction did not carry the image of the poll symbol, while the letter to the Shinde faction contained a large pictorial representation of the ‘two swords and a shield’ poll symbol, the letter said.

    “The same is again giving an unfair advantage to the Petitioner,” the Thackeray faction said.

    NEW DELHI: The Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena on Thursday alleged bias by the Election Commission in the allocation of party symbols and name as it battles for control of the organisation with the group led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

    “Several communications and the actions of the Hon’ble Commission have given rise to a serious apprehension of bias in the mind of the Respondent,” the Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena said in a letter to the Election Commission through its lawyer Vivek Singh.

    Last week, the Commission had barred the rival factions of the Shiv Sena from using the party name and the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol, pending the settlement of the dispute over the “real Shiv Sena”.

    Earlier this week, the Commission had allotted ‘Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ as the name and ‘flaming torch’ as the election symbol for the Thackeray faction.

    The Shinde faction got the name ‘Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena’ and ‘two swords and a shield’ as the election symbol.

    Singh, the lawyer for the Thackeray faction, contended that the Commission did not grant the party adequate time to file its reply on Shinde’s claims to the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol for the Andheri East bypoll in Maharashtra.

    The Thackeray faction also alleged that the Commission had uploaded its letter conveying the preference for poll symbols and party names on the poll authority’s website, making it accessible to everyone, including the rival faction.

    “This was done even before a decision was taken by the Commission regarding allocation of symbols and possibly even before the Petitioner had submitted his own list of proposed symbols and names, thus giving the Petitioner and his group a clear unfair advantage over the Respondent,” Singh said.

    He claimed that the Shinde faction had “very tellingly” given the same first choice of name, and the same first and second choice of the symbol as of the Thackeray faction.

    “This could not have happened but for the fact that the Hon’ble Commission shared a privileged communication from the Respondent herein on its public website. This one-sided and unfair disclosure gave the Petitioner information that he immediately used to his advantage by ensuring that his preferences regarding name and symbol blocked the Respondent from being allotted his first preference,” Singh said.

    The Commission’s letter allotting the ‘flaming torch’ to the Thackeray faction did not carry the image of the poll symbol, while the letter to the Shinde faction contained a large pictorial representation of the ‘two swords and a shield’ poll symbol, the letter said.

    “The same is again giving an unfair advantage to the Petitioner,” the Thackeray faction said.

  • Assembly bypoll: HC asks BMC to accept resignation of Team Uddhav’s candidate

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Mumbai civic body to accept the resignation of Rutuja Latke, paving the way for her to file nomination for the Andheri (East) byelection as the candidate of the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray.

    The last date for submitting nominations is October 14.

    Latke had on September 2 submitted a letter to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), with which she was employed as a clerk since 2006, requesting that it relax certain service conditions so that she can contest the November 3 byelection.

    After the BMC rejected her request on September 29, Latke on October 2 submitted her resignation.

    But the BMC did not take any decision.

    She then moved the court alleging that the corporation was delaying its decision deliberately so as to stop her from contesting the election.

    As per the Election Commission’s rules, a government employee can not file nomination to contest an election until her or his resignation is accepted.

    A division bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Sharmila Deshmukh on Thursday said the use or non-use of discretion by the BMC commissioner in this case was “arbitrary and malafide (done in bad faith)”.

    “The municipal commissioner has the discretionary power to accept the resignation and waive the notice period. According to us, discretion is to be used for bonafide purposes. The use or non-use of discretion, in this case, is arbitrary and malafide,” the court said.

    The bench asked the concerned BMC official to accept the resignation and issue appropriate letter by 11 am on Friday.

    “She is your employee. You should be helping her out. If an employee wants to resign and contest elections what is the difficulty? The petitioner is a clerk. Why is the municipal commissioner not using his discretion and taking a decision?” Justice Jamdar said.

    “It is a clerk who wants to resign, just say yes or no. Don’t give it so much importance. Don’t burden us, we already have many matters pending,” the court added.

    The bench also asked the municipal body to file an affidavit and adjourned the matter to October 20.

    This dispute should not have landed in the court in the first place as it was just an “employer-employee dispute”, the judges remarked.

    Earlier, the HC had asked the BMC’s counsel Anil Sakhare to inform if the corporation was willing to take a decision on the resignation.

    After taking instructions from the BMC, Sakhare said the civic body could not take immediate decision as it had received a complaint accusing Latke of corruption, bribery and “liaison.”

    “We will have to enquire into this complaint and only then we can take a decision,” the lawyer said.

    But the court noted that this complaint was filed on October 12, only a day earlier.

    Latke’s lawyer Vishwajeet Sawant questioned the intentions behind the filing of the complaint.

    “The BMC is not supposed to be partisan and take political sides. But they are now doing exactly the same,” advocate Sawant said.

    Latke had no pending dues nor was she facing any enquiry, and in the normal course her resignation would have been accepted by the Joint Commissioner, he said.

    Due to political circumstances it was pending for decision by the commissioner, he claimed.

    Latke’s petition alleged that the delay in the acceptance of her resignation seemed to be deliberate so as to prevent her from contesting the byelection.

    The election in suburban Mumbai was necessitated by the death of Latke’s husband and sitting Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke.

    She also said that she will contest the bypoll with the ‘mashaal’ (flaming torch) symbol.

    The petition did not mention the political party but the symbol had been granted to the Thackeray-led Sena.

    The Andheri (East) byelection is the first electoral test of the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray after the party split in June.

    It will also be the first election it will contest on its new symbol.

    The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party, the other two members of the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, have pledged support to the ‘Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ party.

    The BJP is likely to field Murji Patel.

    Its ally, the `Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena’, the splinter faction of the Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has not made its stand clear yet.

    Speaking to reporters outside the court, Latke welcomed the decision and said she had got justice.

    She would be fighting for the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, she said.

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Mumbai civic body to accept the resignation of Rutuja Latke, paving the way for her to file nomination for the Andheri (East) byelection as the candidate of the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray.

    The last date for submitting nominations is October 14.

    Latke had on September 2 submitted a letter to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), with which she was employed as a clerk since 2006, requesting that it relax certain service conditions so that she can contest the November 3 byelection.

    After the BMC rejected her request on September 29, Latke on October 2 submitted her resignation.

    But the BMC did not take any decision.

    She then moved the court alleging that the corporation was delaying its decision deliberately so as to stop her from contesting the election.

    As per the Election Commission’s rules, a government employee can not file nomination to contest an election until her or his resignation is accepted.

    A division bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Sharmila Deshmukh on Thursday said the use or non-use of discretion by the BMC commissioner in this case was “arbitrary and malafide (done in bad faith)”.

    “The municipal commissioner has the discretionary power to accept the resignation and waive the notice period. According to us, discretion is to be used for bonafide purposes. The use or non-use of discretion, in this case, is arbitrary and malafide,” the court said.

    The bench asked the concerned BMC official to accept the resignation and issue appropriate letter by 11 am on Friday.

    “She is your employee. You should be helping her out. If an employee wants to resign and contest elections what is the difficulty? The petitioner is a clerk. Why is the municipal commissioner not using his discretion and taking a decision?” Justice Jamdar said.

    “It is a clerk who wants to resign, just say yes or no. Don’t give it so much importance. Don’t burden us, we already have many matters pending,” the court added.

    The bench also asked the municipal body to file an affidavit and adjourned the matter to October 20.

    This dispute should not have landed in the court in the first place as it was just an “employer-employee dispute”, the judges remarked.

    Earlier, the HC had asked the BMC’s counsel Anil Sakhare to inform if the corporation was willing to take a decision on the resignation.

    After taking instructions from the BMC, Sakhare said the civic body could not take immediate decision as it had received a complaint accusing Latke of corruption, bribery and “liaison.”

    “We will have to enquire into this complaint and only then we can take a decision,” the lawyer said.

    But the court noted that this complaint was filed on October 12, only a day earlier.

    Latke’s lawyer Vishwajeet Sawant questioned the intentions behind the filing of the complaint.

    “The BMC is not supposed to be partisan and take political sides. But they are now doing exactly the same,” advocate Sawant said.

    Latke had no pending dues nor was she facing any enquiry, and in the normal course her resignation would have been accepted by the Joint Commissioner, he said.

    Due to political circumstances it was pending for decision by the commissioner, he claimed.

    Latke’s petition alleged that the delay in the acceptance of her resignation seemed to be deliberate so as to prevent her from contesting the byelection.

    The election in suburban Mumbai was necessitated by the death of Latke’s husband and sitting Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke.

    She also said that she will contest the bypoll with the ‘mashaal’ (flaming torch) symbol.

    The petition did not mention the political party but the symbol had been granted to the Thackeray-led Sena.

    The Andheri (East) byelection is the first electoral test of the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray after the party split in June.

    It will also be the first election it will contest on its new symbol.

    The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party, the other two members of the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, have pledged support to the ‘Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ party.

    The BJP is likely to field Murji Patel.

    Its ally, the `Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena’, the splinter faction of the Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has not made its stand clear yet.

    Speaking to reporters outside the court, Latke welcomed the decision and said she had got justice.

    She would be fighting for the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, she said.

  • Maha bypoll: Uddhav faction’s Rutuja Latke moves HC against ‘BMC delay’ in accepting her resignation

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Rutuja Latke, the candidate of ‘Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ party for the upcoming Andheri (east) bypoll, on Wednesday moved the Bombay High Court seeking a direction to the Mumbai civic body to accept her resignation as its employee.

    The petition will be heard on Thursday.

    In her petition, Rutuja Latke said the delay by the civic body in issuing a letter or order (accepting her resignation) appears to be deliberate to prevent her from contesting the November 3 byelection.

    She also requested the HC to allow her to file a nomination for the byelection, necessitated by the death of her husband and sitting MLA Ramesh Latke.

    The last date for submitting the nomination for the bypoll is October 14.

    Rutuja Latke, however, has not mentioned the party she wants to file the poll nomination.

    Separately, Rutuja Latke has maintained that she will contest the bypoll on the Thackeray faction’s ‘mashaal’ symbol.

    Her counsel Vishwajeet Sawant mentioned the petition before a division bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Sharmila Deshmukh and sought an urgent hearing.

    The bench said it would hear the petition on Thursday.

    The petition stated the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s conduct was “arbitrary, illegal and malafide” and that the civic body was duty-bound and obligated to accept her resignation.

    “That the delay on the part of the respondents (BMC) in issuing a letter/certificate/order appears to be deliberate to prevent the petitioner from contesting the byelection,” it added.

    Rutuja Latke urged the HC to direct the BMC to accept her resignation and issue an order forthwith and to permit her to file her nomination.

    According to her petition, Rutuja Latke has been employed with the BMC since 2006 and she intends to contest the byelection.

    “On October 3, the petitioner submitted her resignation to the BMC and has complied with all formalities. But till date, the BMC was withholding its acceptance of her resignation and not issuing appropriate orders,” the plea said.

    According to the Election Commission’s rules, Rutuja Latke cannot file her nomination to contest an election until her resignation is accepted, as she cannot hold an office of profit from the government.

    This is the first bypoll the splintered Shiv Sena led by Thackeray will contest on its new symbol, the ‘Mashaal’ (flaming torch).

    Rutuja Latke on Wednesday told reporters that she had not met chief minister Eknath Shinde.

    She maintained that she will contest the bypoll on the ‘mashaal’ symbol.

    The Congress and NCP have pledged support to the ‘Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ party, making Rutuja Latka the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate.

    The BJP is likely to field Murji Patel.

    The stand of the Shinde faction, now called “Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena”, on contesting the bypoll is not clear yet.

    MUMBAI: Rutuja Latke, the candidate of ‘Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ party for the upcoming Andheri (east) bypoll, on Wednesday moved the Bombay High Court seeking a direction to the Mumbai civic body to accept her resignation as its employee.

    The petition will be heard on Thursday.

    In her petition, Rutuja Latke said the delay by the civic body in issuing a letter or order (accepting her resignation) appears to be deliberate to prevent her from contesting the November 3 byelection.

    She also requested the HC to allow her to file a nomination for the byelection, necessitated by the death of her husband and sitting MLA Ramesh Latke.

    The last date for submitting the nomination for the bypoll is October 14.

    Rutuja Latke, however, has not mentioned the party she wants to file the poll nomination.

    Separately, Rutuja Latke has maintained that she will contest the bypoll on the Thackeray faction’s ‘mashaal’ symbol.

    Her counsel Vishwajeet Sawant mentioned the petition before a division bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Sharmila Deshmukh and sought an urgent hearing.

    The bench said it would hear the petition on Thursday.

    The petition stated the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s conduct was “arbitrary, illegal and malafide” and that the civic body was duty-bound and obligated to accept her resignation.

    “That the delay on the part of the respondents (BMC) in issuing a letter/certificate/order appears to be deliberate to prevent the petitioner from contesting the byelection,” it added.

    Rutuja Latke urged the HC to direct the BMC to accept her resignation and issue an order forthwith and to permit her to file her nomination.

    According to her petition, Rutuja Latke has been employed with the BMC since 2006 and she intends to contest the byelection.

    “On October 3, the petitioner submitted her resignation to the BMC and has complied with all formalities. But till date, the BMC was withholding its acceptance of her resignation and not issuing appropriate orders,” the plea said.

    According to the Election Commission’s rules, Rutuja Latke cannot file her nomination to contest an election until her resignation is accepted, as she cannot hold an office of profit from the government.

    This is the first bypoll the splintered Shiv Sena led by Thackeray will contest on its new symbol, the ‘Mashaal’ (flaming torch).

    Rutuja Latke on Wednesday told reporters that she had not met chief minister Eknath Shinde.

    She maintained that she will contest the bypoll on the ‘mashaal’ symbol.

    The Congress and NCP have pledged support to the ‘Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’ party, making Rutuja Latka the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate.

    The BJP is likely to field Murji Patel.

    The stand of the Shinde faction, now called “Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena”, on contesting the bypoll is not clear yet.

  • Uddhav-led Shiv Sena gives 3 choices for poll symbol – trident, rising sun or burning torch

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction has submitted to the Election Commission its three options of a trident, rising sun or Mashaal (burning torch) for its poll symbol, sources said on Sunday.

    The Election Commission had on Saturday barred the Shiv Sena factions led by former chief minister Thackeray and present Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde from using the party name and its election symbol ‘bow & arrow’ in the Andheri East Assembly by-poll scheduled on November 3.

    In an interim order over claims by the rival factions for control of the organisation, the commission asked them to suggest by Monday three different name choices and also as many free symbols for allocation to their respective groups.

    A source from the Thackeray faction said, “The Sena has submitted three options as an alternative before the Election Commission – a trident, rising sun or a burning torch, also known as Mashaal in Marathi and Hindi languages.”

    The Thackeray camp has also given some options for its official name in polls, the source said without elaborating.

    The EC’s interim order on Saturday came on the Shinde faction’s request seeking it be allocated the symbol as the Andheri East assembly bypoll is approaching.

    The rival factions had approached the Election Commission after the split in the Shiv Sena ranks in June this year, with both sides claiming to be the ‘real Shiv Sena’.

    The bypoll to Andheri East Assembly seat in suburban Mumbai has been necessitated due to the death of incumbent Sena MLA Ramesh Latke.

    The Congress and the NCP have decided to support Ramesh Latke’s wife Rujuta Latke, the candidate of the Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, their coalition partner in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), an ally of the Shinde faction, has decided to field Murji Patel, a corporator in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

    MUMBAI: The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction has submitted to the Election Commission its three options of a trident, rising sun or Mashaal (burning torch) for its poll symbol, sources said on Sunday.

    The Election Commission had on Saturday barred the Shiv Sena factions led by former chief minister Thackeray and present Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde from using the party name and its election symbol ‘bow & arrow’ in the Andheri East Assembly by-poll scheduled on November 3.

    In an interim order over claims by the rival factions for control of the organisation, the commission asked them to suggest by Monday three different name choices and also as many free symbols for allocation to their respective groups.

    A source from the Thackeray faction said, “The Sena has submitted three options as an alternative before the Election Commission – a trident, rising sun or a burning torch, also known as Mashaal in Marathi and Hindi languages.”

    The Thackeray camp has also given some options for its official name in polls, the source said without elaborating.

    The EC’s interim order on Saturday came on the Shinde faction’s request seeking it be allocated the symbol as the Andheri East assembly bypoll is approaching.

    The rival factions had approached the Election Commission after the split in the Shiv Sena ranks in June this year, with both sides claiming to be the ‘real Shiv Sena’.

    The bypoll to Andheri East Assembly seat in suburban Mumbai has been necessitated due to the death of incumbent Sena MLA Ramesh Latke.

    The Congress and the NCP have decided to support Ramesh Latke’s wife Rujuta Latke, the candidate of the Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, their coalition partner in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), an ally of the Shinde faction, has decided to field Murji Patel, a corporator in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

  • Uddhav, Shinde in war of words in Dussehra rallies

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday told his supporters at the traditional Dussehra rally at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park that the party has not left its Hindutva plank and that he would continue to treat the rebels led by CM Eknath Shinde as traitors.

    “They (the rebels) are parasites who have crept up the Shiv Sena tree. They should understand that without a tree, they have no worth. We are happy that these traitors have left us. Now, new leadership will emerge,” said Uddhav.

    “We gave everything to him (Shinde)… his son was made Lok Sabha MP. People who come here love Sena and the Thackeray family,” Uddhav said. The Sena chief said Shinde’s faction is not the Sena at all. “They are parasites who have grown on the Shiv Sena tree. They should understand that without a tree, the parasite has no value. We are happy that these traitors have left us. Now, new leadership will emerge,” Thackeray said.

    The Sena chief sought to keep the party’s Hindutva line. “We left the BJP, not Hindutva. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat recently visited a mosque. Does that mean that RSS left Hindutva? The BJP has no authority to speak on Hindutva,” said Uddhav. He also recalled LK Advani’s visit to the Jinnah memorial in Pakistan, saying the BJP was not the sole spokesperson for Hindutva.  “The BJP also allied with Mehbooba Mufti for power in Jammu and Kashmir,” Thackeray said.

    Thackeray said many development projects were “snatched” from Maharashtra and shifted to Gujarat. “We have no ill-will against Gujarat. However, our chief minister (Shinde) keeps visiting Delhi. In the last 100 days of this new government, Shinde might have gone to Delhi for 99 days. He has no authority…even hike mike was snatched by his deputy,” Thackeray said.

    He said when he was the CM, deputy CM Ajit Pawar remained respectful. “The Congress and NCP respected me and the chief minister’s chair.” Meanwhile, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in his parallel Dussehra rally at BKC said that far from being a traitor; his party was the “real follower” of Balasaheb Thackeray.

    “We never betrayed the legacy of Balasaheb. In fact, Uddhav Thackeray cheated the party and is a traitor. They forgot the Balasaheb legacy. By joining hands with Congress and NCP, Uddhav forgot his father. We are the protectors of Sena legacy,” Shinde said.

    Shinde demanded Uddhav’s apology for “cheating” the party. “The people assembled here represent the real Shiv Sena. We have the support of all party MLAs and MPs,” he said.“We took this step (rebellion) to save the Shiv Sena, preserve the principles of Balasaheb, Hindutva and for the betterment of Maharashtra,” he said, adding he has been getting an overwhelming response for the decision.

    The CM asked Uddhav to apologize at Bal Thackeray’s memorial for going against his ideals and aligning with one-time political rivals, the Congress and NCP.“Do you even have the right to occupy the post (of Shiv Sena chief) after compromising on the principles of Bal Thackeray?’ Shinde said in a scathing attack.He said the massive crowd at his Dussehra rally was proof enough to show who the true inheritors of Bal Thackeray’s legacy were.

    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday told his supporters at the traditional Dussehra rally at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park that the party has not left its Hindutva plank and that he would continue to treat the rebels led by CM Eknath Shinde as traitors.

    “They (the rebels) are parasites who have crept up the Shiv Sena tree. They should understand that without a tree, they have no worth. We are happy that these traitors have left us. Now, new leadership will emerge,” said Uddhav.

    “We gave everything to him (Shinde)… his son was made Lok Sabha MP. People who come here love Sena and the Thackeray family,” Uddhav said. The Sena chief said Shinde’s faction is not the Sena at all. “They are parasites who have grown on the Shiv Sena tree. They should understand that without a tree, the parasite has no value. We are happy that these traitors have left us. Now, new leadership will emerge,” Thackeray said.

    The Sena chief sought to keep the party’s Hindutva line. “We left the BJP, not Hindutva. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat recently visited a mosque. Does that mean that RSS left Hindutva? The BJP has no authority to speak on Hindutva,” said Uddhav. He also recalled LK Advani’s visit to the Jinnah memorial in Pakistan, saying the BJP was not the sole spokesperson for Hindutva.  “The BJP also allied with Mehbooba Mufti for power in Jammu and Kashmir,” Thackeray said.

    Thackeray said many development projects were “snatched” from Maharashtra and shifted to Gujarat. “We have no ill-will against Gujarat. However, our chief minister (Shinde) keeps visiting Delhi. In the last 100 days of this new government, Shinde might have gone to Delhi for 99 days. He has no authority…even hike mike was snatched by his deputy,” Thackeray said.

    He said when he was the CM, deputy CM Ajit Pawar remained respectful. “The Congress and NCP 
    respected me and the chief minister’s chair.” Meanwhile, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in his parallel Dussehra rally at BKC said that far from being a traitor; his party was the “real follower” of Balasaheb Thackeray.

    “We never betrayed the legacy of Balasaheb. In fact, Uddhav Thackeray cheated the party and is a traitor. They forgot the Balasaheb legacy. By joining hands with Congress and NCP, Uddhav forgot his father. We are the protectors of Sena legacy,” Shinde said.

    Shinde demanded Uddhav’s apology for “cheating” the party. “The people assembled here represent the real Shiv Sena. We have the support of all party MLAs and MPs,” he said.“We took this step (rebellion) to save the Shiv Sena, preserve the principles of Balasaheb, Hindutva and for the betterment of Maharashtra,” he said, adding he has been getting an overwhelming response for the decision.

    The CM asked Uddhav to apologize at Bal Thackeray’s memorial for going against his ideals and aligning with one-time political rivals, the Congress and NCP.“Do you even have the right to occupy the post (of Shiv Sena chief) after compromising on the principles of Bal Thackeray?’ Shinde said in a scathing attack.He said the massive crowd at his Dussehra rally was proof enough to show who the true inheritors of Bal Thackeray’s legacy were.

  • Stamp of ‘traitor’ will always remain, Uddhav Thackeray tells Shinde faction at Dussehra rally; slams BJP 

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: In a scathing attack on Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other rebel party leaders, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said their reputation as “traitors” will never go away.

    Thackeray, who stepped down as chief minister in June following Shinde’s rebellion, addressed the party’s annual Dussehra rally at the iconic Shivaji Park even as the Shinde faction organized its own rally elsewhere in the city.

    “The stamp of traitor (on the Shinde faction) will never go away. As time changes, the face of Ravan also changes. Today, it is the traitors (who are Ravan),” he said at the well-attended gathering.

    When he was unwell and underwent a surgery while being the chief minister, he had delegated responsibility to Shinde, then a senior minister, Thackeray said.

    “But he conspired against me thinking I will never stand up on my feet again,” Thackeray alleged.

    Today’s Ravan was not known for multiple heads but for the number of ”khoke” (boxes), he said, alluding to the alleged use of monetary inducement or boxes of cash to bring down the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by him.

    “If you feel I should not remain the Sena president, I will quit. There is a limit to the lust for power. After the act of treachery, he (Shinde) now wants the party, its  symbol and also wants to be called party president,” Thackeray said.

    Shinde was now trying to appropriate Sena founder Bal Thackeray’s legacy because he could not get votes in his “own father’s name,” he said.

    He formed a post-poll alliance with Congress and Nationalist Congress Party in 2019 to teach the BJP a lesson for going back on its past assurance, Thackeray said.

    “I swear on my parents that it had been decided that BJP and Shiv Sena will share the chief minister’s post for two and a half years each,” he said.

    Shinde was among the first to be sworn in as a minister along with Congress and NCP leaders, and “he had no problem then,” Thackeray said, referring to Shinde’s claim that he rebelled because he and his supporters did not approve of the new alliance.

    He did not want lessons from BJP on Hindutva, Thackeray said.

    “BJP leaders visited (then Pakistan prime minister) Nawaz Sharif on his birthday without invitation and bowed before (Mohammad Ali) Jinnah’s grave,” he said.

    Thackeray also accused the BJP, his former ally, of raising the Hindutva issue to divert attention from poverty, unemployment and inflation.

    “RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale has shown BJP the mirror,” he said, referring to Hosabale’s recent remark about the challenges of unemployment and rising income inequality.

    With the rupee plummeting against dollar, he invoked late BJP leader Sushma Swaraj’s statement that when the value of the rupee decreases, the country’s standing also goes down.

    Fighting to retain control of the party founded by his late father, Uddhav sought support and strength from the Sena cadres in front of him.

    “Today I have nothing. But with your support Shiv Sena will rise again. I will make a Shiv Sena worker chief minister again. We have to defeat the traitors in every election,” he said, ahead of the byelection to Andheri East Assembly constituency and Mumbai civic polls.

    ALSO READ: Uddhav Thackeray’s brother Jaidev shares stage with Maha CM Shinde at Dussehra rally

    He also targeted BJP leader Amit Shah, asking if Shah was the country’s home minister or the BJP’s “internal minister” who only topples state governments.

    Referring to Shah’s exhortation to BJP workers to show the Sena `zameen’ (to rout it), Thackeray said, “Even we want to see the zameen (land) of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir becoming part of our country.”

    The Shinde government was about to complete 100 days in office but most of this time was spent in Delhi, he said, in a dig at Shinde’s visits to the national capital. For the Shiv Sena, Hindutva meant nationalism, said Thackeray.

    All nationalist Indians should be wary of the BJP’s aim to finish off all other political parties, he added.

    “RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat recently visited a mosque. Has he (then) given up Hindutva?” the Sena chief said, in response to the BJP’s barbs that he discarded Hindutva by joining hands with the NCP and Congress.

    Thackeray referred to Bhagwat’s speech on gender equality and highlighted the Ankita Bhandari murder case in Uttarakhand and the release and alleged felicitation of convicts in the Bilkis Bano case in Gujarat. Was this women empowerment, Thackeray asked.

    “When we were with the BJP, the government never fulfilled Balasaheb Thackeray’s vision of naming Aurangabad and Osmanabad as Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv. As chief minister I took the decision to rename them with full support of MVA allies,” he said.

    Earlier, when Thackeray arrived on stage with the word `Eknishth” (loyal) in the background, he knelt down before the gathering.

    The 61-year-old leader needed the help of his aides to kneel.

    “I don’t have the doctors’ permission to bow yet. But I can’t proceed before bowing to you,” he said at the start of his 30-minute speech.

    MUMBAI: In a scathing attack on Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other rebel party leaders, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said their reputation as “traitors” will never go away.

    Thackeray, who stepped down as chief minister in June following Shinde’s rebellion, addressed the party’s annual Dussehra rally at the iconic Shivaji Park even as the Shinde faction organized its own rally elsewhere in the city.

    “The stamp of traitor (on the Shinde faction) will never go away. As time changes, the face of Ravan also changes. Today, it is the traitors (who are Ravan),” he said at the well-attended gathering.

    When he was unwell and underwent a surgery while being the chief minister, he had delegated responsibility to Shinde, then a senior minister, Thackeray said.

    “But he conspired against me thinking I will never stand up on my feet again,” Thackeray alleged.

    Today’s Ravan was not known for multiple heads but for the number of ”khoke” (boxes), he said, alluding to the alleged use of monetary inducement or boxes of cash to bring down the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by him.

    “If you feel I should not remain the Sena president, I will quit. There is a limit to the lust for power. After the act of treachery, he (Shinde) now wants the party, its  symbol and also wants to be called party president,” Thackeray said.

    Shinde was now trying to appropriate Sena founder Bal Thackeray’s legacy because he could not get votes in his “own father’s name,” he said.

    He formed a post-poll alliance with Congress and Nationalist Congress Party in 2019 to teach the BJP a lesson for going back on its past assurance, Thackeray said.

    “I swear on my parents that it had been decided that BJP and Shiv Sena will share the chief minister’s post for two and a half years each,” he said.

    Shinde was among the first to be sworn in as a minister along with Congress and NCP leaders, and “he had no problem then,” Thackeray said, referring to Shinde’s claim that he rebelled because he and his supporters did not approve of the new alliance.

    He did not want lessons from BJP on Hindutva, Thackeray said.

    “BJP leaders visited (then Pakistan prime minister) Nawaz Sharif on his birthday without invitation and bowed before (Mohammad Ali) Jinnah’s grave,” he said.

    Thackeray also accused the BJP, his former ally, of raising the Hindutva issue to divert attention from poverty, unemployment and inflation.

    “RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale has shown BJP the mirror,” he said, referring to Hosabale’s recent remark about the challenges of unemployment and rising income inequality.

    With the rupee plummeting against dollar, he invoked late BJP leader Sushma Swaraj’s statement that when the value of the rupee decreases, the country’s standing also goes down.

    Fighting to retain control of the party founded by his late father, Uddhav sought support and strength from the Sena cadres in front of him.

    “Today I have nothing. But with your support Shiv Sena will rise again. I will make a Shiv Sena worker chief minister again. We have to defeat the traitors in every election,” he said, ahead of the byelection to Andheri East Assembly constituency and Mumbai civic polls.

    ALSO READ: Uddhav Thackeray’s brother Jaidev shares stage with Maha CM Shinde at Dussehra rally

    He also targeted BJP leader Amit Shah, asking if Shah was the country’s home minister or the BJP’s “internal minister” who only topples state governments.

    Referring to Shah’s exhortation to BJP workers to show the Sena `zameen’ (to rout it), Thackeray said, “Even we want to see the zameen (land) of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir becoming part of our country.”

    The Shinde government was about to complete 100 days in office but most of this time was spent in Delhi, he said, in a dig at Shinde’s visits to the national capital. For the Shiv Sena, Hindutva meant nationalism, said Thackeray.

    All nationalist Indians should be wary of the BJP’s aim to finish off all other political parties, he added.

    “RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat recently visited a mosque. Has he (then) given up Hindutva?” the Sena chief said, in response to the BJP’s barbs that he discarded Hindutva by joining hands with the NCP and Congress.

    Thackeray referred to Bhagwat’s speech on gender equality and highlighted the Ankita Bhandari murder case in Uttarakhand and the release and alleged felicitation of convicts in the Bilkis Bano case in Gujarat. Was this women empowerment, Thackeray asked.

    “When we were with the BJP, the government never fulfilled Balasaheb Thackeray’s vision of naming Aurangabad and Osmanabad as Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv. As chief minister I took the decision to rename them with full support of MVA allies,” he said.

    Earlier, when Thackeray arrived on stage with the word `Eknishth” (loyal) in the background, he knelt down before the gathering.

    The 61-year-old leader needed the help of his aides to kneel.

    “I don’t have the doctors’ permission to bow yet. But I can’t proceed before bowing to you,” he said at the start of his 30-minute speech.