“If you come after families and children, then remember you have families and children too,” said the Maharashtra Chief Minister.
In an interview to his party’s mouthpiece Saamana, to mark one year of the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition that he formed with Sharad Pawar’s NCP and the Congress, Maharashtra CM and Shiv Sena Supremo Uddhav Thackeray came down heavily on the BJP. Mr Thackeray spoke at a length about a corruption investigation against a leader of his Shiv Sena and threw a challenge and a warning at former ally BJP.
Talking about reopening a suicide abetment case against Republic TV anchor Arnab Goswami and the criticism by BJP leaders and Union Ministers, the Maharashtra CM said: “If you come after families and children, then remember you have families and children too. You are not clean. We know how to set you straight, roast you.”
The former ally of the BJP has accused the party of using central agencies for political vendetta. Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik and his son Vihang Sarnaik are being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate over allegations of money laundering.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, while interviewing Mr Thackeray, asked: “A Marathi businessman died in suspicious circumstances. Shouldn’t there be a probe?”
Mr Thackeray, responding aggressively to the question, said: “This makes us angry. In Maharashtra, the Marathi Manus will not stand up for his rights, they will not do business, outsiders will come, they will trap them, they will dance on their chest. And if someone dies by suicide and he writes a note about it about someone, we are not supposed to inquire about it? We will sweep it under the carpet and if we reinvestigate then you will use the ED against them? You will bury a Marathi and dance over him? And we have to suffer that in front of our eyes?”
“You indulge in a cycle of revenge. We will use the Sudarshan Chakra… Do politics if you want. But if you misuse power to create roadblocks for us, remember the power is not yours permanently. In the past, we know what happened. There were cases against you too. Remember how the Shiv Sena Supremo (Bal Thackeray) saved you. If you remember this even a little bit, then you know times can change. Power is not just about the chair. The public is power. They are with us,” he further added.
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