Nobody can take away 'bow and arrow' symbol from Shiv Sena, says Uddhav; dares rebels to face mid-term polls
The Hindu
“I am saying this after talking to constitutional experts.”
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said nobody can take away his party's 'bow and arrow' symbol, a remark made in the wake of the rebel Sena faction's assertion that it was the real claimant of the symbol.
Addressing reporters at his residence 'Matoshree' in suburban Bandra, he also dared the party rebels and the BJP to face mid-term elections in Maharashtra, saying that people should be allowed to take a stand on the toppling of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by him. He said if people do not favour his party in the elections, he would accept it.
Mr. Thackeray said the Supreme Court's verdict on the disqualification plea of 16 rebel MLAs scheduled to be given on July 11 will decide not just the future of the Shiv Sena, but also of Indian democracy.
Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde - now the chief minister of Maharashtra - had last month raised a banner of revolt against the party leadership, a move that subsequently led to the fall of the MVA government comprising Sena, NCP and Congress. A day after Mr. Thackeray resigned as the state chief minister on June 29, Mr. Shinde took oath of the top post with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis being sworn in as his deputy. Mr. Shinde enjoys the support of 40 rebel MLAs of the Sena.
Hardening his stand against the rebels, Mr. Thackeray asked how they can claim to love the 'Matoshree' and Thackerays if the dissidents align with those who have subjected him and his family to the worst kind of criticism and even attempted to "destroy his sons' lives".
"According to the law, no one can take away the bow and arrow symbol from Shiv Sena. I am saying this after talking to constitutional experts," he said. Rebel Shiv Sena MLA Gulabrao Patil had on Wednesday said the faction led by Mr. Shinde was the real claimant of the party’s 'bow and arrow' poll symbol.
Seeking to assuage the concerns of his party workers, Mr. Thackeray said people do not just look at the party symbol while voting, but they also look at the person and also whether the candidate belongs to the Shiv Sena.