Bal Thackeray's name cannot be separated from Ayodhya movement, says CM Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday said the name of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray cannot be separated from the Ayodhya movement a remark that came in the wake of Bharatiya Janata Party BJP leader Chandrakant Patil questioning the role of Sena workers in the Babri mosque demolitionDisapproving of Patils remarks Shinde said Ayodhya was a matter of faith for himSpeaking at the Mumbai TakBaithak interaction the chief minister said I told BJP leader and minister Chandrakant Patil that he shouldnt have spoken against Balasaheb ThackerayPatils statement that not a single Sena worker was present when the Babri mosque in Ayodhya was demolished in 1992 has put the BJP in a spot as it is a partner in the Eknath Shindeled Shiv Sena in the Maharashtra governmentAyodhya is a matter of faith for meWe got the Shiv Sena name and symbol because people have accepted our stand on why we rebelled he said adding that his government was not scared of holding local bodies elections in the stateBalasaheb Thackeray cannot be taken out of the Ayodhya movement The late Sena chief gave the slogan Garv se kaho hum Hindu hai Say with pride we are Hindus and people became united as Hindus he saidShinde said Patil told him that he did not mean to disrespect the late Sena supremoWe sent silver bricks to Ayodhya from Thane I want to ask where was todays leader during the kar seva movement to demolish the Babri structure he said apparently targeting Uddhav ThackerayShinde also made light of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi MVAs joint Vajramuth rallies in the state by dubbing them as VajrajhoothReferring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhis attack on the central government and late Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar Shinde said the opposition has been insulting India and Maharashtra within the country as well as abroadAlso read Maha CM fires veiled barb at Uddhav over his whereabouts when Babri masjid was demolishedThis is nothing but treason he saidTargeting Uddhav Thackeray Shinde said the state saw lack of development because of his egoWhat is the harm in seeking help from the Centre for states welfare he askedShinde said his government was focusing on infrastructure development which was stopped during the erstwhile MVA ruleDuring the COVID19 pandemic Uddhav Thackeray s contribution was making people sit at home he saidThe opposition cannot digest the fact that our government is doing well Shinde saidThe mandate in the 2019 Assembly elections was for the Shiv SenaBJP and had the MVA continued the future of the Shiv Sena MLAs was bleak he said adding that the gaddar traitor tag should be for Uddhav Thackeray and not for himTo a question on whether he was the chief leader of the Shiv Sena he said he was a worker and would remain soWhen asked if the 2024 Assembly election would be led by him Shinde said the polls are still far awayHaving a face is immaterial Workers are the face of the party he saidTo a question on the disqualification of a 16member rebel group Shinde said his government was constitutional and as per democratic normsLets wait for the Supreme court verdictI am not under any pressure I dont compromise my ethics and principles under pressureHe refused to go into the details on speculation that a breakaway group of the Nationalist Congress Party NCP led by Ajit Pawar may join the ruling Shiv SenaBJP allianceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever