23 June,2023 09:01 PM IST | Mumbai | PTI
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Ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra on Friday said Opposition parties coming together to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi only shows his greatness and asserted that him winning the next year's Lok Sabha polls is a foregone conclusion.
State minister and Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant also targeted the rival group led by former CM Uddhav Thackeray over the issue of Article 370, which provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir and was abrogated by the Modi government in August 2019.
Opposition parties held a key unity meeting in Patna on Friday which was attended by Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, his son and former environment minister Aaditya Thackeray and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut.
As many as 17 Opposition parties, including the Congress, the Trinamool Congress, the DMK, the JD(U) and the SP took part in the conclave where they resolved to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha polls unitedly to defeat the BJP and work with flexibility by setting aside their differences.
"For defeating one person (PM Modi), all parties have come together and this shows his greatness. It is given that Narendra Modi will come back to power in the next Lok Sabha polls," said Samant, whose party, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, is a key BJP ally in Maharashtra.
Targeting Uddhav Thackeray, the Shiv Sena deputy leader said 'Matoshree' (the private residence of the Thackeray family in suburban Bandra) strongly batted for abolition of Article 370, but now they are sitting next to those who opposed the 2019 move to scrap the constitutional provision.
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Samant was referring to Uddhav Thackeray sitting next to People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader and former Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti at the press conference that followed the Opposition meeting.
The PDP had strongly opposed the abrogation of Article 370 and has been seeking the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood. The erstwhile state was divided into two Union Territories in 2019.
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