Hitting out at the BJP, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) chief Uddhav Thackeray said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Income Tax department are the “three strong parties” of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
In an interview with Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut, who is the executive editor of Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, Thackeray also slammed the Centre over the ethnic strife in Manipur and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not even ready to visit the north-eastern state.
“After many years, I learnt that the amoeba called NDA is still alive in this country. In order to counter the alliance of patriotic leaders of the country, which is called INDIA, our Prime Minister suddenly convened a meeting of 36 parties (part of the BJP-led NDA). Actually, they don’t need 36 parties. Currently, three parties are strong in NDA, which are ED, income tax and CBI,” Thackeray said.
“Old allies like Shiv Sena and Akali Dal have already left NDA and some of the parties in the NDA meeting did not even have a single MP,” he added.
The leaders of 36 parties, who are part of the NDA, attended a meeting that was convened by PM Modi in Delhi on July 18, on the same day, when 26 Opposition parties, including Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) met in Bengaluru, and formed an alliance under the name ‘INDIA’ (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance).
The first part of the interview was published in Saamana on Wednesday and aired on the party’s social media channels.
Speaking about Manipur, Thackeray said that the state government led by N Biren Singh has failed the state.
“I am mentioning Manipur again and again because Manipur is a part of our country. I fear that Manipur is on the verge of breaking away (from the country). The double-engine (BJP) government has failed in Manipur,” Thackeray said.
“Now, two states (Manipur and Kashmir) are burning. There is instability in two states at the same time. In Kashmir, there have been no elections for the last six years. It seems that the government does not wish to hold elections. That is why I am saying that 2024 will be a crucial year for the country. If this (BJP) government comes again in 2024, I don’t think democracy will survive in this country and elections will ever be held again,” the former Maharashtra chief minister said.
On Uniform Civil Code (UCC), Thackeray said that the BJP should first bring a law to ban cow slaughters in the country. If everyone is equal before the law, then those who are corrupt in the BJP should also be punished, he said.