Eknath Shinde.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday targeted Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, holding him responsible for the plight of "Marathi manoos" and sought to know steps taken by him in the last 25 years when he controlled the Mumbai civic body.
Addressing a Mahayuti rally here ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls on January 15, Shinde took a dig at the Thackeray cousins -- Uddhav and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj -- for taking up the cause of Marathi people only when polls are around.
They (Raj and Uddhav) only remember Marathi manoos (Marathi people) before polls. Otherwise they don't even bother to look at Marathi manoos," said the Shiv Sena leader.
Mumbai's next Mayor will be from the Mahayuti (which consists of BJP-Shiv Sena), and a Marathi, and no one can break the metropolis from Maharashtra, Shinde asserted.
He said Mumbai is the pride of Maharashtra and India's financial capital. "We are working day and night for the development of Mumbai," the Deputy Chief Minister said at the rally organised on the penultimate day of campaigning for the civic polls.
Some people don't feel like doing anything for Marathi manoos, he stated.
"They are the ones responsible for the plight of Marathi manoos today. Marathi manoos was thrown out of Mumbai during your tenure. Whose failure is it if you controlled the BMC for 25 years?" Shinde said, attacking his arch political rival Uddhav Thackeray.
The undivided Shiv Sena controlled the BMC for 25 years from 1997 to 2022. Uddhav and Raj Thackeray, who have come together for the civic elections after 20 years of estrangement, have made Marathi "asmita" (pride) their main poll plank.
"Some people made an emotional speech that this is the last battle of Marathi manoos. The existence of Marathi manoos was not under threat before and it will not be under threat tomorrow. Your existence is under threat," Shinde said.
"We are capable of protecting the interest of Marathi manoos," he said, noting that the Thackeray cousins have nothing to do with Marathi manoos.
He said the Mahayuti will bring back Marathi speaking people with respect to Mumbai.
Listing out the work done by the Mahayuti government for Marathi manoos, Shinde said it approved giving occupation certificates to 20,000 buildings, and making Mumbai "pagdi-free".
He said the BJP-led Mahayuti government will give 1 lakh houses to mill workers in Mumbai and the wider region of MMR.
In an apparent dig at Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, Shinde said, "Their interest is watching Netflix all day and doing politics when they want to." He said the Centre and the state government want to develop Mumbai as a fintech capital.