Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Uddhav accuses Abdul Sattar of land grab, slams BJP for campaigning for him

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Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday took a swipe at Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and questioned if it was the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) culture to campaign for leaders such as Abdul Sattar, who had made objectionable remarks about Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) lawmaker Supriya Sule. According to news agency PTI, Thackeray's comments came after PM's rally in Sillod, which is part of the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district where Sattar is the sitting Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA).

"I want to ask the PM if this is the culture of BJP, to campaign for such people. Sattar made objectionable remarks against Sule on camera. The BJP also campaigned for Prajwal Revanna in Karnataka," Thackeray said, while campaigning for his party's candidate, Suresh Bankar, who is contesting against Sattar.

Revanna, of the Janata Dal (Secular), was arrested in May on sexual assault allegations.

According to PTI, Thackeray further criticised Sattar, who is from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and accused him of land grabs in Soygaon and Sillod, and alleged that the minister had also attempted to illegally seize government plots. "The poll office here is on the land which he possesses illegally. We will probe all this if we come to power," Thackeray said.

In another dig at the BJP, Thackeray claimed that Muslim women dressed in black were not allowed to attend Modi's rally in Mumbai, implying discrimination at the event.

Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, along with the Congress and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), and is contesting against the Mahayuti alliance comprising the BJP, Shinde's Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's NCP.

'Medical device park shifted to Gujarat'

Addressing a rally in Nashik later, Thackeray alleged that a medical device park, which would have created jobs for at least one lakh people in Maharashtra, was moved to Gujarat. "The BJP takes everything to Gujarat and then comes here asking for votes," he said. "Voting for them is an act of treachery. This is not a struggle for my survival but for Maharashtra's future. I will fight for my state till my last breath."

According to PTI, Thackeray also hit out at PM Modi for his statement at a rally that Shiv Sena (UBT) had given its "remote control" to the Congress. "I will not allow the Congress to control my party, even though they are our ally," Thackeray said. He accused the BJP of trying to loot Maharashtra and highlighted the incident during the Lok Sabha polls when a farmer, who asked the PM about onion prices, was removed from the rally. "Asking questions on onions, soybean, unemployment is not allowed under BJP rule," he added.

Thackeray warned the BJP not to intimidate Shiv Sena (UBT) with "EVMs, CBI, and ED". "I challenge the BJP to come and fight one-on-one. We will accept the people's mandate. If they tell us to sit at home, we will do so. But if they lose, they will have to sit at home," he asserted.

The Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 are scheduled for November 20, with results to be announced on November 23.

(With PTI inputs)