19 December,2024 06:43 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray. File Pic
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday strongly rejected a suggestion by Karnataka Congress MLA Laxman Savadi to declare Mumbai a Union Territory, reported news agency PTI.
In a strongly worded post on X (formerly Twitter), Thackeray described the demand as "condemnable" and emphasised that his party will never tolerate any attempt to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra.
He referred to Mumbai as his "motherland" and highlighted that the city was achieved by "Marathi manoos" through significant sacrifices.
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"The demand to centralize Mumbai is condemnable. Be it Congress or BJP... any party... Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) will not tolerate the language of separating Mumbai from Maharashtra. Mumbai is our homeland. Every particle here has been earned by the Marathi people by shedding their blood. Mumbai was not given to us by anyone," said the MLA from Worli in Mumbai.
"The Congress leadership should reprimand its MLAs," he said.
The controversial statement emerged in the context of the ongoing border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka over Belagavi, a border town with a significant Marathi-speaking population.
The remarks were a response to Laxman Savadi's reported comment that if Maharashtra leaders are demanding Belagavi (Belgavi) as a Union Territory, Mumbai should similarly be declared a Union Territory.
This statement has escalated the long-standing territorial dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka over the control of Belagavi, a border town in Karnataka formerly known as Belgaum. It has a significant Marathi-speaking population.
These three parties are part of the opposition INDIA bloc at the national level with several other parties.
The statement comes at a sensitive time, with the Shiv Sena (UBT) being part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, which includes Congress and NCP (SP).
Aaditya Thackeray criticises cabinet expansion delay, chaos within Mahayuti alliance
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday raised concerns about the ongoing delay in the allocation of portfolios following the recent Maharashtra cabinet expansion.
Aaditya Thackeray's in a post on X, published on the fourth day of the winter session, highlights the uncertainty and confusion surrounding the functioning of the newly appointed ministers.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader criticised the situation, stating that "Ministers have not been allocated their portfolios as yet," leaving MLAs and MLCs uncertain about who to address the people's issues to. This delay in portfolio distribution, according to Thackeray, reflects an internal struggle among the ruling Mahayuti alliance, with ministers preoccupied with "portfolio fights" rather than focusing on their duty to serve the citizens.
(With inputs from PTI)
