Raj Thackeray of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena caused a stir in Maharashtra politics when he threatened to use loudspeakers to recite Hanuman Chalisa unless the state government removed loudspeakers from mosques.
“I don’t dispute one’s freedom to worship,” Thackeray stated, “but the loudspeakers atop mosques must be removed.” During his speech at Shivaji Park, the MNS head also criticized NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, saying that his party is to blame for the emergence of casteist politics in Maharashtra and for dividing people.
Raj Thackeray who is known for his extreme right-wing politics also slammed MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) Government and called it solely responsible for all chaos and political crisis in Maharashtra after the 2019 assembly elections.
He also said, there are several issues that are in the state that are unaddressed by the MVA government like worker’s strikes, and ministers going to jail, this wasn’t the Maharashtra we imagined. He also took a dig at NCP for creating a caste-based divide and playing dirty nepotism based politics.
NCP supremo Sharad Pawar responded to allegations made by Raj Thackeray, he said “Raj Thackeray disappears for three to four months before reappearing to give a speech. This is his area of expertise.
For months, I have no idea what he does,” Pawar told reporters in Kolhapur. He also made a jab at the MNS’s electoral results, claiming that “his party does not engage with the public.” Pawar said that his voting percentage proves it.
“He spoke about the NCP and caste politics,” Pawar stated, “The fact is that Chhagan Bhujbal and Madhukar Rao Pichard, among others, worked as the Leader of the House in the state Assembly of the NCP, and everybody knows which communities they belong to.”
In addition, the NCP supremo also defended his nephew Ajit Pawar’s selection as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister and responded to nepotism claims made by Raj Thackeray, saying, “Ajit Pawar has had the chance to lead because he has over 30 years of Parliamentary experience.”
Pawar also reacted angrily to Thackeray’s admiration for the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government’s development initiatives, contrasting them with Maharashtra’s development endeavours.
“Can you tell me about the current events in Uttar Pradesh?” The outcomes of the elections differed for a variety of reasons. Farmers were protesting on the outskirts of UP at Lakhimpur Kheri, where they were killed, but no one came to solve their problems.
Many things happened during the Yogi government, and I’m not going to say anything if he (Raj Thackeray) praises it. This will not happen under the leadership of (Chief Minister) Uddhav Thackeray, Pawar added. Pawar also criticized the central government’s handling of the fuel pricing issue.
Edited by Subbuthai Padma
Published by Iram Rizvi
