Mumbai: In the midst of the Shiv Sena’s most significant crisis to date, Uddhav Thackeray expressed his belief that this adversity presents an opportunity to rejuvenate the party, which has been plagued by internal issues.
“No crisis should be wasted. What we are seeing now is a crisis. Yet, I actually treat it as an opportunity. We should not let this go waste, God does not give us an opportunity time and again,” Thackeray stated while addressing a gathering of senior citizen Shiv Sainiks in Mumbai.
Thackeray, a former Maharashtra Chief Minister and the current leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT) following the 2022 party split, declared that those who wish to leave the party are free to do so. “We don’t want those with traitorous intentions to claim victory once the government is formed,” he emphasized.
Thackeray also underscored that only his party is capable of directly confronting the BJP. “We are Shiv Sainiks,” he asserted, and paid tribute to his late father, Balasaheb Thackeray, and his grandfather, Prabodhankar Thackeray, for their contributions.
The former Chief Minister criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for their “repeated attempts to diminish the significance of Mumbai” by relocating projects elsewhere. “Everything is being transferred to Gujarat,” he lamented.
(Published 28 October 2023, 14:25 IST)