Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday that Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), had conspired with the Nationalist Congress Party and Congress to sabotage the BJP's bid for chief minister in Maharashtra following the 2019 elections.
Shah said that the BJP didn't overthrow the Thackeray-led MVA government last year; rather, it was Shiv Sainiks who were fed up with Thackeray's policies and weren't ready to join the NCP led by Sharad Pawar at a rally in Nanded as part of the BJP's outreach campaign to mark the end of the Narendra Modi government.
"I as (then) BJP president and (the then chief minister) Devendra Fadnavis had carried out negotiations in which Thackeray agreed that if the NDA emerged victorious, Fadnavis will be the chief minister (again). However, after the results (in 2019), Thackeray broke the promise and sat in the Congress-NCP's lap," Shah added.
The BJP and the Shiv Sena (undivided) participated in the 2019 Assembly elections together, but the BJP left the alliance over the chief minister's position.
Shah said the Shiv Sena, which is currently headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has got back its bow and arrow and it has been concluded who the genuine Shiv Sena is.
He challenged Thackeray to state clearly whether he supported the Uniform Civil Code, the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the abolition of triple talaq, or a reservation for Muslims.
"You cannot stand on two stones. You will be exposed before the people of the state," Shah said in a swipe at Thackeray.
According to Shah, Thackeray did not run for office during the COVID-19 pandemic while Modi was giving vaccines to his countrymen.
Thackeray had received flak for not going to office during the Coronavirus pandemic.
In his revised autobiography released last month, NCP president Sharad Pawar said although the middle class liked Thackeray's Facebook Live during the Coronavirus pandemic, him going to Mantralaya (the state secretariat) just two times was challenging to understand.
Shah claimed that the Gandhis could not have accomplished what Modi did in nine years in four generations.
He claimed that while Congress "prince" Rahul Gandhi insults India abroad, Prime Minister Modi is working to elevate India's global standing.
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