Not Eknath Shinde, We Are Fighting The BJP: Sena UBT's Aaditya Thackeray At CNN-News18 Town Hall

Aaditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) leader at the CNN-News18 Town Hall on Friday, said his faction of the party was fighting for Maharashtra as the state hasn’t got much in the past two years of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government. Thackeray was speaking at a session titled ‘Matoshree to Prove Its Might?’

“It is not a personal fight…we are fighting for Maharashtra. The state has not achieved anything in the past two years. They are only looting Maharashtra…The government installed here is anti-Constitutional. They key question to ask is what has Maharashtra achieved?…The MVA has won every election that has gone to the people. The BJP is scared of elections.”

When asked about the Supreme Court’s stance on his claim that the government was unconstitutional, Thackeray said, “The SC may take 30-40 years to deliver justice! The coastal road, due by December 2023, remains unfinished under the ‘illegal CM’… We planned bike tracks and green space — these delays are unacceptable!”

Commenting on Fadnavis’s remark that his party split due to his father Uddhav Thackeray’s ambitions for him, Thackeray said, “What is Devendra Fadnavis’s standing in his own party? The top five leaders of the BJP in Maharashtra are not from the BJP. They are 2019 and 2020 imports. the CM is from the Gaddar gang….Real BJP karyakartas are not getting anything because of Fadnavis’s own power struggle…The Shinde gang is not my aim…My fight is with the BJP. They broke other parties. They are dividing India and looting Maharashtra.”

He added that the Sena did not expand their base in other states because of their alliance with the BJP. “We respect our allies.”

Thackeray further questioned the BJP: “Why are we playing cricket with Bangladesh when Hindus are being attacked there?…Uddhav Thackeray led Maharashtra during Covid, he is the one who granted loan waivers…The BJP went back on its promise to us…People of Maharashtra know whom to vote for.”

On the infrastructure development in the state, he said, “By the time our government was toppled, 82% work on the Atal Setu was completed. They stalled it for three months for elections. Every project Shinde has touched has been delayed.”

On the Tirupati laddoo row, he said, “Lab reports say there was no adulteration…Jagan Mohan Reddy ji and Chandrababu Naidu were their allies, why did the BJP not say anything? Naidu ju should at least show facts and not play around with sentiments…Get it tested from four other labs…Whoever is guilty should be hanged in public.”

Attacking the BJP further, he said, “Why did the BJP inaugurate a temple which was half ready and the roof of which was leaking…Instead of creating rift between societies, the BJP should give jobs.”

“If you have one financial centre in Gujarat, why don’t you give one to Mumbai, one to Bengaluru…We are international cities… We as Mumbaikars don’t get as many funds as the National Capital Authority of Delhi. Many players run Mumbai. The entire town has to be run by the BMC. My grandfather started the movement for jobs for locals. We have Hindutva in our heart.”

Renowned for its dynamic and thought-provoking discussions, CNN-News18 Town Hall has previously hosted editions across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and Bengaluru. Over the years, the platform has seen key figures from politics, business, and entertainment converge to debate national issues and the country’s key policies.The theme of this edition was ‘Road to Delhi via Mumbai?’, in the lead-up to assembly elections in Maharashtra.