'Why Didn't Amit Shah Keep Shiv Sena CM Promise in 2019?' Asks Uddhav Thackeray

He asked why the BJP had not agreed to form a government with the Sena under a similar arrangement 2.5 years ago.

A day after Shiv Sena rebel leader Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister of Maharashtra, his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray on Friday, 1 July, addressed the media and said that Shinde cannot be a Sena CM after abandoning the party.

(Photo: PTI)

A day after Shiv Sena rebel leader Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister of Maharashtra, his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray on Friday, 1 July, addressed the media and said that if Amit Shah had kept his promise in 2019, Maharashtra would have had a BJP chief minister now.

"If Amit Shah had kept his promise in 2019 and formed the government with me the way he has formed it now, the alliance would have flourished. We had proposed that 2.5 years ago, it could have been either a BJP or a Sena CM. We had proposed that if a Sena CM rules first a letter signed by the Sena CM and me as the party chief could be a part of an official agreement to notify that on so and so date, the Sena CM would step down to pave way for a BJP CM," he said in a press conference from the Sena Bhavan.

"If you had listened to me, there would have been a BJP CM for at least 2.5 years, but in the current scenario, there would be no BJP CM for all five years."

Uddhav Thackeray

"The way this government has been formed and the ones who have formed this government are not Shiv Sainiks. Why did they not do the same 2.5 years ago? It was decided between us and the BJP. It would have been the same 2.5-year arrangement. if they would have abided by their promises back then, MVA would not have formed," he added.

'Eknath Shinde Not Sena CM': Uddhav

The former chief minister further stated that Shinde could not call himself a Shiv Sena chief minister after 'abandoning' the party.

"He is not a Shiv Sena chief minister. You cannot abandon Shiv Sena and claim to be a Sena chief minister," Thackeray said.

'Don't Backstab People of Mumbai': Uddhav on New Cabinet's Aarey Decision

Soon after Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister of Maharashtra, the new Cabinet on Thursday, 1 July, overturned some key decisions of former CM Thackeray, including the shifting of the controversial metro 3 car shed out of the Aarey Milk colony.

Reacting to the move on Friday, Thackeray said, "You (Shinde) backstabbed me, but don't backstab the people of Mumbai."

"I am saddened by the decision on Aarey metro car shed. Aarey is not a private plot. Trees were killed in Aarey in the middle of the night. I had stayed the construction at Aarey when I took over as CM, but I was not hindering development. I had given Kanjurmarg as an option," he addeM

After taking over as chief minister in 2019, Uddhav Thackeray had stayed the construction of the metro 3 corridor and appointed a committee to look for alternative plots, after protests against tree felling and violation of Adivasi rights.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil hit out at the MVA government, saying that several important issues were not addressed during its tenure.

"What did MVA govt do when saints in Palgahar were killed? Status of work for Mumbai metro and Bullet train projects remain unknown. Preparations for water logging in Mumbai weren't done. They didn't address issues related to reservation and farmers," Patil said, as per news agency ANI.

(With inputs from ANI.)