Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday once again asked Union minister Nitin Gadkari to leave the BJP if he was being "insulted", saying that the opposition in Maharashtra would ensure his victory in the Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking at a rally at Pusad in eastern Maharashtra's Yavatmal district, Thackeray said people like (former Congress leader) Kripashankar Singh, whom the BJP once targeted (over alleged corruption), figured in the saffron party's first list of candidates along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but Gadkari's name was missing.
"I had told Gadkari this two days ago, and I am repeating it again. If you are being insulted, leave the BJP and join the Maha Vikas Aghadi (alliance of Sena(UBT), NCP (SP) and Congress). We will ensure your victory. We will make you a minister when our government comes to power, and it will be a post with powers," he said.
Last week, responding to Thackeray's offer to Gadkari to contest as a candidate of the opposition, Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had mocked the Sena (UBT) chief, saying it was like a man in the street offering someone to make US president.
Gadkari was a prominent leader of the BJP, but the first list did not have names from Maharashtra as seat-sharing discussions between the BJP and its allies were not complete, Fadnavis had said.
Thackeray, meanwhile, termed the notification of the rules under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act as an "election jumla (slogan)." Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis and others coming to India (from neighbouring countries) are welcome but the timing of the notification was suspect as elections would be soon announced, Thackeray said.
It had been more than four years since the abrogation of Article 370, but no elections have taken place in Jammu and Kashmir and Kashmiri Pandits have not yet returned to their homes in Kashmir, he said.
The BJP should first bring Kashmiri pandits back to Kashmir and then implement the CAA, Thackeray said.
In the coming elections, there is the BJP which is creating enmity between religions and wants to change the Constitution, and on the other hand there is the INDIA bloc which is an alliance of patriots, he said, adding, "This election will be between `desh-bhakt' (those who love their country) and `dvesh bhakt' (those who preach hatred)." Prime minister Modi had not yet found time to visit the restive Manipur, he said.
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