Targeting the government over the new citizenship law, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said, “I would like to know how and where the Hindus from other countries are going to be settled. I don’t think you (Centre) have a plan for it.”
Taking on the BJP in his maiden speech in Assembly on Thursday, Mr. Thackeray said that governments change if anger spills out on the roads. “Many a times anger spills out due to an Act. This anger can change the government. And once the government is changed, the Act is also replaced,” said Mr. Thackeray, replying to a discussion on Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s inaugural speech at the start of the winter session.
Border dispute
The Chief Minister also raised the issue of the border dispute with Karnataka over Belgavi. Maharashtra claims Belgaum, part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, but currently a district of Karnataka, on linguistic grounds.
“The Centre has taken Karnataka’s side and ignored Maharashtra in the legal battle before the Supreme Court...it was going on for the last five years and everyone was kept in the dark,” Mr Thackeray alleged.
He also asked the BJP to make its stand clear on Hindutva ideologue V. D. Savarkar’s opinion on cows. Savarkar apparently was of the opinion that the cow was a useful animal, but it could be slaughtered and eaten after it was no longer useful.
Slamming the Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis who had questioned the functioning of three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and compared it with the autorickshaw with three wheels, Mr. Thackeray said, “Yes, I agree. But auto is preferred over a costly bullet train by commoners. This State government of three parties is of poor, marginalised people who use an auto. We promise that we will work towards the betterment of these sections.”
Look at your alliances: CM
“Are you asking us about the alliances with Congress and NCP? Do you have the authority? What happened when you allied with PDP, Nitish Kumar? You prefer Ram Vilas Paswan who had once called you Bharat Jalao Party. This government is formed on Common Minimum Program and it will work accordingly,” he said.
Mr. Thackeray said several investment proposals for Maharashtra never materialised because of demonetisation and random implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
“Programmes like ‘Magnetic Maharashtra’ were held to attract huge investments but could not bear fruit after decisions like demonetisation and haphazard implementation of GST,” he said. There were several investment-related programmes, which were only promised, but did not materialise due to such “erratic decisions” of the Centre, he added.
