Accusing the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena of splitting votes of Maharashtrians at the bidding of the Congress, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray said it was necessary for all Marathi speakers to counter what he said was a ploy to sever Mumbai from Maharashtra.
Sena mouthpiece Saamna on Friday published the first part of a series of interviews of Uddhav by the newspaper?s executive editor and Rajya Sabha MP, Sanjay Raut. ?These traitors are inducing splits at the bidding of the Congress. The people are saying this openly? The Congress is now implementing the British policy of divide and rule? Those who are committing injustice over us are conspiring to split us,? said Uddhav.
Without naming either his estranged cousin Raj Thackeray or his party, MNS, Uddhav alleged that the Congress was trying to break the unity of the Maharashtrians, and in a reference to industries minister Narayan Rane, charged that the Congress adopted a ?use and throw? policy with Sena dissidents who joined them. ?Now Maharashtrians have realised that this is a battle for their existence,? said Uddhav, in reply to questions on the Sena?s poor showing in urban areas in Lok Sabha polls.
?We have searched most of the reasons for it. One of the reasons is also neglect… the Lok Sabha polls have shown that once we are divided, the outsiders will rule over us and now I can see the belief of the Maharashtrians to desist from being divided and letting go of the saffron flag,? Uddhav said on the Sena?s loss to the Congress-NCP combine in the Thane, Mumbai and Nashik belt due to the MNS eating into Sena votes.