The executive president of the Shiv Sena,
Uddhav Thackeray while talking to
Zeenews.com correspondent
Swati Chaturvedi in the programme
Kahiye Janaab, talks on the issue of inflation, Raj Thackeray, Congress and the CM’s chair.
Swati: Maharashtra used to be India’s most progressive state once upon a time. If Maharashtra does not do well, then the country will not do well. But in this election it seems there are no issues and politics has been reduced to a private limited company. What is your say?
Uddhav: In the past ten years, the position of Maharashtra has gone down the ladder. I don’t feel sad to see a neighboring state developing more. I do feel angry at the affairs of my own state. When I move around, I see a wave among people who now want a government that works.
Swati: In Maharashtra, the real issues are that of farmers’ suicide, power crisis and industrial stagnation. For instance, Nano first came to Maharashtra but it had to go to Gujarat. On top of this, Raj Thackeray is saying that you are eating from your father’s pie and he from his own. Is this any issue?
Uddhav: I am not concerned about what he says. I am more bothered about what people have to say because this election will decide their future. The time has come for a government of the people to take reins in Maharashtra. Whatever is being said, I think, is just nonsense.
Swati: Post 26/11, the Chief Minister was changed. The Congress government is so weak there that a walkover over it seems easily possible. Despite this your party-the Shiv Sena has not been able to outshine the Congress and it seems likely that the latter will win the polls.
Uddhav: During the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress broke our votebank. It was like you vote for the Congress and you vote for the MNS. Maybe this pattern was due to the General Election. But now it is the question of one’s own home (state). Sena has always been the first to help Maharashtra be it at the time of power crisis or otherwise. Even now I say that if the Congress leaders are ready to forego security amidst the poor farmers of the state’s villages, I will join them. Let’s see whom the farmers bless and whom do they throw shoes at.
Swati: There was a time when Sena chief Bal Thackeray used to call the shots. But now Raj’s MNS has eaten into the votebank. People say that Raj has captured Sena’s past history. What has Uddhav Thackeray done?
Uddhav: Not at all. When electricity prices rose, Sena protested. We were about to go for proper street demonstrations. Why did the government clamp a stay?
Now that elections are approaching, issues like inflation, power cuts etc are being sidelined.
Swati: You say you know the pulse of Maharashtra. However at the time of the flare-up caused due to the Amitabh Bachchan episode, there was a big agitation. Your comments.
Uddhav: That’s cheap mentality. If you have capability then you prove yourself. By throwing stones at other people’s houses to come on news is something which anyone can do. But side by side you must expose your own people too who have been arrested in various cases of rape, extortion etc.
Swati: This competitive politics in the state……
Uddhav: It is not being instigated by the Marathi people. The farmers who committed suicide were Marathis. The issue is not this. It is their hunger. That fire in their belly is only leading to the government’s downfall.
If Raj says that I am eating from my father’s pie then so be it. My parents’ blessings are for me. At least I am not stealing and eating. And I have not eaten from my Chacha’s money and slept over it.
Swati: Raj Thackeray is saying that if the Sena lends support to his issues and if Uddhav Thackeray does not become the Chief Minister, then he is ready to back the Shiv Sena. What is your take on this?
Uddhav: He can support Obama even or ask him to resign. He can tell Obama to talk in Marathi. How can I stop him?
Swati: Do you want to sit in the Chief Minister’s residence? Give me a straight answer.
Uddhav: One doesn’t have to be the Chief Minister to sit in his residence. I don’t want to further my personal dream. Many people have gone mad in their desire and struggle to sit on the CM’s or the PM’s chair. When people’s sleep is disturbed and I go to them with my personal ambition of becoming the Chief Minister then no one can be cheaper than me. The responsibility on me is to steer the party to victory. And Sena chief Balasaheb will decide about who shall become the Chief Minister.
Swati: Who do you think is your enemy number one?
Uddhav: The Congress. Because the Congress-NCP combine have destroyed the state. When our government was in power, we didn’t let any communal riot happen and there was not even one terror attack.
Swati: How many seats of Raj Thackeray can you manage to occupy during this election?
Uddhav: Issues like these are not the ones before me. Inflation is a bigger concern. In some states earlier the question of the price of one onion changed five governments. We are facing the issue of a price hike in dal, sugar, wheat, onions and rice. So why cannot five such issues change one government?
Adapted by Ritam Banati