Union Minister of State for Social Justice, Ramdas Athawale, stated that Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray will never unite in Maharashtra politics. Even if they do, it will not impact the Mahayuti alliance, as both their political careers are finished. He made these comments during a press conference on his visit to Solapur on Monday.
Athawale also spoke about the upcoming Zilla Parishad and Municipal Corporation elections, stating that he had requested Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to allocate seats to his party, the Republican Party of India (RPI). He mentioned that he had also requested one MLC seat and a ministerial position for his party workers. He expressed confidence that RPI would secure good seats in the elections scheduled for October.
On the issue of Love Jihad, Athawale advised that the law should ensure that girls involved in such cases are not forced to convert to another religion, and that the law should be framed to prevent such occurrences. Regarding caste verification certificates, Athawale acknowledged the difficulties students face due to the lack of chairpersons in many caste verification committees. He promised to address these issues by holding a meeting with the Social Welfare Department to ensure timely distribution of certificates.
In response to a remark by Neelam Gonhe, who claimed that gifting two Mercedes cars to Uddhav Thackeray could lead to receiving a ministerial position, Athawale sarcastically asked if Uddhav Thackeray was lacking cars, and what he would do with so many. He also responded to Sanjay Raut’s harsh criticism of Gonhe’s comments, emphasizing that such responses should avoid using unparliamentary language and should refrain from disrespecting women..