Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party
Mumbai: Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party harshly, claiming that anybody who promotes communal strife “can’t be a Hindu” and that his party’s “Hindutva” is “clean.”
The former chief minister of Maharashtra also criticized the BJP-led central government for using ballots for elections.
He was speaking at a public gathering celebrating the anniversary of the birth of Balasaheb Thackeray, the founder of the Shiv Sena.
“Set away EVMs and conduct elections using ballots if you’re ashamed. It is impossible for someone to be a Hindu and propagate anti-Muslim sentiment. According to Thackeray, our Hindutva is pure.
In the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Election, the BJP-led Mahayuti won a resounding win with 235 seats, severely undermining the Shiv Sena (UBT), which was already down to 20 seats.
In the meanwhile, a number of INDIA bloc opposition politicians have been contesting the “fairness” of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in elections and calling for paper ballots.
The proposal to go back to paper ballots for voting was rejected earlier this month by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, who said that doing so would be unjustified and backward. The goal of this is to sabotage the electoral process.
A Delhi High Court Division Bench rejected a petition this week that challenged the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in elections across seats. The petitioner had expressed concerns over the use of EVMs, claiming that the Election Commission of India, the respondent, was required under Section 61-A of the applicable statute to provide particular explanations for the use of EVMs in each constituency separately.
The panel rejected the appeal, saying, “We find no merit in the present appeal, and the same is dismissed.” The bench was composed of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela and Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru.
