"CM has time for G-20 dignitaries, but not for Maratha leader": Uddhav Thackeray slams Eknath Shinde

Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray strongly criticized the BJP government, suggesting that the ruling coalition at the Centre is deeply affected by the recent success of the National Opposition parties' gathering in Mumbai two weeks ago.

Uddhav Thackeray called upon the people to vote out the government consisting of traitors and corrupt individuals who have made false promises in the upcoming elections to ensure they are not deceived again.

"They are so rattled by the INDIA bloc that they have changed the country's name to Bharat... We shall not indulge in such name-change games... We will change the ruling party and the nation's Prime Minister in the next (Lok Sabha) elections... The BJP will not return to power in the 2024 elections," Uddhav Thackeray said.

However, he emphasized that 'INDIA,' 'Bharat,' or 'Hindustan' are all our names, and we shall use any that we like, and nobody can impose it on us. Thackeray made this statement while addressing a large public rally in Jalgaon this afternoon.

“There is talk now that there could be a repeat of the Godhra incident (February 27, 2002) around the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya…” warned Thackeray.

“We were with the BJP for 25-30 years, and we did not become like them, so how can we become Congress now…?" asked Thackeray.

He criticized Shinde for finding the time to travel to New Delhi and take photos with G-20 dignitaries but not having the time to visit Maratha leader Manoj Jarange-Patil, who has been on a hunger strike in Jalna for 13 days to demand quotas.

“What are Jarange-Patil’s demands… At least talk to him, we had gone to meet him… Is any official representative of the government still in communication with the Maratha leader or nor? Or is it left to that bearded traitor (ex-Shiv Sena-UBT legislator) Arjun Khotkar…” said Uddhav Thackeray.

Thackeray drew a comparison between the police crackdown on September 1 during the Maratha protests, which he referred to as 'Jalna-wala,' and the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of April 13, 1919, during the British regime.