Nagpur: Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray Thursday called the Belgavi region, “Karnataka-occupied Maharashtra” and criticised the BJP-led government in the neighbouring state for alleged atrocities on Marathi-speaking people. While replying to the discussion on the governor’s speech, Mr Thackeray also asked the BJP to explain how it planned to rehabilitate Hindus migrating from neighbouring countries owing to persecution.
Meanwhile, the BJP staged a walkout from the house as Uddhav Thackeray did not announce any aid to farmers.
The CM made the Karnataka comment while referring to the Citizenship Act. He said that it was a welcome decision by the Union government to protect the interests of Hindus displaced from Pakistan but the government should also ensure the welfare of Hindus displaced within the country or facing atrocities.
“When the Kashmiri Pandits were displaced because of persecution, they had nowhere to go but Sena supremo (late) Balasaheb Thackeray backed them and they settled down in Maharashtra,” he said.
Like Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, there was a Karnataka-occupied Maharashtra and people in Belgaum were not only Hindus but also Marathi-speaking people and wanted to be part of Maharashtra. However, they were facing oppression from the BJP-led government in Karnataka. “Even for speaking the truth, the Belgaum mayor was booked for treason,” Uddhav Thackeray said. During the last five years, the BJP government had only supported Karnataka, he claimed.
The Sena chief continued his tirade against the BJP saying that his party had made a mistake in mixing religion with politics. “We paid the price for it. But now we have learnt our lesson that religion and politics should not be mixed,” he said.
Attacking the BJP for implementing the ban on cow slaughter selectively, he claimed that BJP leaders like Kiran Rijiju and late Manohar Parrikar had opposed the ban in their states. While speaking about Veer Savarkar, he chose to avoided any reference to Rahul Gandhi’s “I am not Rahul Savarkar” comment.
