ED, CBI, IT Only Three Strong Parties in NDA, Claims Uddhav Thackeray

MUMBAI:
Taking a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has claimed the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax department and the CBI are the ”only three strong parties” in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

In an interview to Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut, who is the executive editor of Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, Thackeray also slammed the Centre over the ethnic strife in Manipur and said Prime minister Narendra Modi is not even ready to visit the north-eastern state. Taking an aim at a recent meeting of the BJP-led NDA, Thackeray claimed when elections approach, for the BJP its government is the NDA government.

After the polls are over, it becomes the Modi-government, he added. Leaders of 38 parties, part of the NDA, met in Delhi last week. On the same day, 26 opposition parties, including the Shiv Sena (UBT), met in Bengaluru and a proposal was adopted unanimously to name their coalition as Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

The opposition parties have been accusing the ruling BJP of misusing central agencies to target the opponents. “There are 36 parties in the NDA. The ED, CBI and Income Tax are the only three strong parties in the NDA. Where are the other parties? Some parties do not even have a single MP,” Thackeray said in the interview, the first part of which was published in ‘Saamana’ on Wednesday.

On the issue of Uniform Civil Code, Thackeray said the BJP should first bring a law for a ban on cow slaughter from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. If everyone is equal before law, then those who are corrupt in the BJP should also be punished, the former Maharashtra chief minister said. He also asserted that the ”real Shiv Sena” is where the Thackeray family is.

Thackeray said those who engineered a split in the Shiv Sena thought it would perish, but it is rising again. It is also a blessing in disguise because many veterans who rebelled had occupied their seats for a long time, and now new people can get a chance in their place, he said. In June last year, MLA Eknath Shinde and 39 other legislators revolted against the Shiv Sena leadership, leading to a split in the party and collapse of the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

Shinde later became the chief minister with the BJP’s support. On the petitions seeking disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs including Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, Thackeray said if state assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar does not do justice, then doors of the Supreme Court are open for his party.