Will never go back to BJP who tried to finish us, says Uddhav Thackeray

MUMBAI: Putting to rest rumours of Shiv Sena (UBT) aligning with BJP, Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday asserted that they will “never go back to those who tried to finish them”, even as he dared CM Ekanth Shinde to battle out the upcoming assembly election without the Shiv Sena name, bow-and-arrow symbol, and pictures of Balasaheb Thackeray. The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief also challenged PM Narendra Modi to come to Maharashtra to campaign for the assembly polls.
“They [Shinde’s Shiv Sena] cannot inherit the legacy of my father, Balasaheb. In the LS polls, people have shown them who the true inheritors are. We dare you to fight the assembly polls without the bow-and-arrow symbol and see who wins,” Thackeray said, amid thunderous applause at the Shiv Sena’s 58th foundation day celebrations at Shanmukhananda Hall in Sion. “There are rumours being deliberately spread that I will join NDA. But how can we go back to those who put a dagger in our back and tried to finish us?”
Dubbing BJP’s Hindutva as “regressive”, Thackeray said: “Our Hindutva is more progressive and courageous. BJP has dumped the real Hindutva by aligning with Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu for the sake of power,” he said, adding that Sena (UBT) stood against NDA because BJP tried to damage the democratic framework of the country and its Constitution. “Now, BJP has sent two new observers for state, Bhupendra Yadav and Ashwini Vaishnav, who were poor performers in the Modi cabinet.”
“I credit the people of Maharashtra and Mumbai for this [LS poll] victory,” he said. “In the assembly elections too, ensure that you pull down the govt that calls Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP), and Congress an unnatural alliance.” Thackeray appealed to supporters to ensure party candidates’ victory in the state MLC elections for graduates’ and teachers’ constituencies.
Thackeray also took potshots at his cousin, MNS chief Raj Thackeray, for his “unconditional” support to BJP.