MUMBAI: On the last day of the deadline set by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde did not give any concrete assurance on granting the reservation on Tuesday.
However, in his speech at the Dussera rally on Tuesday, he made the dramatic claim that he would fight for Maratha reservations till the last drop of his blood. He left the mike to walk towards the statue of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji and bowed his head before it.
In response, Jarange Patil said he would resume his hunger strike for the quota. “We respect the chief minister. We gave the government 40 days but now we will resume the agitation,” he told the media.
Shinde appealed to the Maratha youth not to commit suicide. “I can understand your unhappiness but do not take this extreme step and commit suicide. Do not leave your families without support,” he said at the packed rally in Azad Maidan. He said the Supreme court had accepted the state’s curative petition on the quota, which provided a window of hope.
“I will fight to provide the Maratha reservation till the last drop of my blood,” said Shinde, who belongs to the Maratha community. He also appealed to the audience not to fall prey to those trying to create a divide between Marathas, OBCs and adivasis.
This was Shinde’s second Dussera rally after he split the Shiv Sena and he used the occasion to make his pitch for the Lok Sabha polls next year. “The public will destroy the India alliance in the same manner that the ten-headed Ravan was destroyed. Prime Minister Modi will win the 2024 polls. Maharashtra should try and give him 45 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state,” he said. He also said that the Mahayuti would win the state assembly polls due next year.
Shinde lashed out at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and accused him of betraying Bal Thackeray’s ideals. “Today, they have joined hands with the Congress and Samajwadi Party. In the future, they could join hands with the MIM. They could even hug Hamas,” said Shinde.
He also alleged that Thackeray nursed ambitions of becoming the Chief Minister since 2004 and finally acted on his ambitions in 2019. Accusing Thackeray of corruption, he said, “You were not Dena Bank but Lena Bank.” He also said they were planning to frame him in a false case, but before that he managed to topple the government.
Addressing rumours of a rift within the government after the entry of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, Shinde said, after he joined the government became stronger. “People said this government will fall but with Ajit Pawar joining on the issue of development, it has become stronger and we have 210 MLAs.”
This year too, Shinde held his rally outside Shivaji Park while the Shiv Sena (UBT) conducted their rally at the traditional ground. “People said I should have done the rally at Shivaji Park but as head of the state, I prefer to keep the piece. And in any case, the place where Balasaheb’s thoughts are expressed becomes shivtirth (Shivaji Park).
However, in his speech at the Dussera rally on Tuesday, he made the dramatic claim that he would fight for Maratha reservations till the last drop of his blood. He left the mike to walk towards the statue of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji and bowed his head before it.
In response, Jarange Patil said he would resume his hunger strike for the quota. “We respect the chief minister. We gave the government 40 days but now we will resume the agitation,” he told the media.
Shinde appealed to the Maratha youth not to commit suicide. “I can understand your unhappiness but do not take this extreme step and commit suicide. Do not leave your families without support,” he said at the packed rally in Azad Maidan. He said the Supreme court had accepted the state’s curative petition on the quota, which provided a window of hope.
“I will fight to provide the Maratha reservation till the last drop of my blood,” said Shinde, who belongs to the Maratha community. He also appealed to the audience not to fall prey to those trying to create a divide between Marathas, OBCs and adivasis.
This was Shinde’s second Dussera rally after he split the Shiv Sena and he used the occasion to make his pitch for the Lok Sabha polls next year. “The public will destroy the India alliance in the same manner that the ten-headed Ravan was destroyed. Prime Minister Modi will win the 2024 polls. Maharashtra should try and give him 45 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state,” he said. He also said that the Mahayuti would win the state assembly polls due next year.
Shinde lashed out at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and accused him of betraying Bal Thackeray’s ideals. “Today, they have joined hands with the Congress and Samajwadi Party. In the future, they could join hands with the MIM. They could even hug Hamas,” said Shinde.
He also alleged that Thackeray nursed ambitions of becoming the Chief Minister since 2004 and finally acted on his ambitions in 2019. Accusing Thackeray of corruption, he said, “You were not Dena Bank but Lena Bank.” He also said they were planning to frame him in a false case, but before that he managed to topple the government.
Addressing rumours of a rift within the government after the entry of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, Shinde said, after he joined the government became stronger. “People said this government will fall but with Ajit Pawar joining on the issue of development, it has become stronger and we have 210 MLAs.”
This year too, Shinde held his rally outside Shivaji Park while the Shiv Sena (UBT) conducted their rally at the traditional ground. “People said I should have done the rally at Shivaji Park but as head of the state, I prefer to keep the piece. And in any case, the place where Balasaheb’s thoughts are expressed becomes shivtirth (Shivaji Park).