Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | 'How many Kashmir Pandits could go back to J&K?': Uddhav questions Modi's Article 370 pitch

Mumbai, Nov 10 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday mocked the BJP over the abrogation of Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare how many Kashmiri Pandits could go back to their native Valley after the provision ceased to exist.

Addressing a rally in Sangola in Solapur district, Thackeray also slammed the PM for speaking first about Article 370 during his Maharashtra assembly poll speeches instead of problems of farmers that have not been resolved by the Centre.

The BJP has routinely claimed the scrapping of Article 370, on August 5, 2019, has brought peace to the restive erstwhile state and has also given benefits of reservations to Dalits, tribals and OBCs.

Thackeray said Union Home Minister Amit Shah was suffering "memory loss" for claiming he was sitting with those who had opposed the abrogation of Article 370.

"He forgets that I was with them in support of the decision. Instead of spying on me, tell people of Maharashtra and the country how many Kashmiri Pandits have returned to their homes in Kashmir Valley. When they (Kashmiri Pandits) fled their homes, no one knew Modi and Shah, and it was Balasaheb Thackeray who gave them shelter in Maharashtra," the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said.

"Balasaheb was not even PM. How many years have passed since that decision. How many Kashmiri Pandits have you been able to relocate to the Valley," he said in a swipe at Modi.

He said Modi and Shah speak of Article 370 and Ram Temple, while people of Maharashtra want employment.

Was Shiv Sena not with the BJP when the Ram Temple was being built, Thackeray asked.

"If anyone thinks it is my dream to be chief minister, then it is not so. I dream of my Maharashtra," said Thackeray, who was CM from 2019 to June 2022.

Further attacking Shah and Modi, he said while the two top BJP leaders were addressing rallies in Maharashtra, a 31-year-old mother of two was assaulted and burnt alive in Manipur.

"Instead of working to finish off Thackeray, act like a home minister and finish off those who are indulging in violence in Manipur. Stop terror attacks in Kashmir," he said in a swipe at Shah.

If campaigning for assembly polls was more important than tackling issues facing the nation, then Modi and Shah should quit as PM and Union home minister, respectively, and move around just as star campaigners of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Thackeray said.

Maharashtra polls will be held on November 20, while results will be declared on November 23.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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