Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray called on newly-appointed Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, raising eyebrows in political circles.
Thackeray described it as a courtesy visit but taunted the ruling alliance members under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over Pawar getting the finance portfolio.
Thackeray, a member of the legislative council of Maharashtra, had not attended the first two days of the monsoon session of the legislature, as he was busy with the meeting of opposition parties at Bengaluru.
On returning from Bengaluru on Tuesday night, Thackeray came to state legislature around noon on Wednesday and spent some time with party MLAs before heading to Pawar’s office on the first floor, along with his son and party leader Aaditya Thackeray and other members of the legislature.
Exchange of pleasantries
Thackeray greeted Pawar with a bouquet of flowers, while the deputy chief minister pulled a chair for the former chief minister. The two leaders then exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes.
“I met Ajit Pawar and wished best luck for him. In the current rat race for power one should not ignore the issues bothering the state. A few days ago, farmers were worried because there was no rain. Now there are floods and they might be worried. I requested Ajit Dada to not forget the real owner of the state,” Thackeray told the media in the Vidhan Bhavan premises.
'Maharashtra and not Dhrutarashtra'
“Ajit Pawar has worked for 2.5 years with me. I’m sure that though others are engaged in politics and pursuing power, Ajit Pawar will help the people because the keys to the state’s coffers have been given to him,” Thackeray said, apparently targetting members of the Shinde camp who had opposed the induction of Pawar in the government and also opposed allocating the finance portfolio to him.
“Some people had left Shiv Sena saying that they don’t want to be with Ajit Pawar. But the same people are with him in the power now. People understand all these things. They are not like visionless Dhrutarashtra, but they are from Chhatrapati’s Maharashtra,” Uddhav said.
Asked why Ajit Pawar met his uncle Sharad Pawar twice over past four days, Thackeray said that the issue didn’t arise in their discussion.
Meeting of patriotic parties in Bengaluru
Thackeray also spoke about the meeting of opposition parties at Bengaluru. “There was a meeting of patriotic parties. They have formed a front and it has been named ‘INDIA’. In my speech there I said, ‘I’m not against any party or a person, but I’m opposing autocracy.’ People may come and go, but the way precedents are being set is wrong. All patriotic and democracy loving people have come together against such things,” Thackeray said.
When asked about the viral video of Kirit Somaiya, he avoided comment and said women across the state have said what they wanted to say.
