Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said that his party would not deviate from the Hindutva ideology.
“I am still with the ideology of Hindutva and won't ever leave it,” Thackeray told the Maharashtra Assembly on Sunday.
Earlier this week, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had accused the Shiv Sena—the BJP’s former partner—of abandoning Hindutva ideals by allying with the Congress.
Thackeray said that he still has respect for Fadnavis and sees him as a friend.
“I have learnt a lot of things from Devendra Fadnavis and I will always be friends with him. In the past five years, I have never betrayed the government..”
However, he added that he would not call Fadnavis an ‘Opposition leader’ but would instead call him a ‘responsible leader’. “If you would have been good to us, all this would have no happened.”
Thackeray called himself a “lucky CM” because “Those who opposed me are now with me and those who I was with are now on the opposite side. I am here with my luck and blessings of people. I have never told anyone that I will be coming here but I came.
The common minimum programme of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance had secularism mentioned in its very first paragraph, “The alliance partners commit to uphold the secular values enshrined in the Constitution. On the contentious issue of national importance especially having repercussions/consequences on the secular fabric of the nation, the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress will take a joint view after holding consultations and arriving at a consensus.”
Many reports stated that the Shiv Sena had objected to the alliance having any commitment towards secularism, initially. However, NCP chief Sharad Pawar suggested that the word be used in reference to the Constitution. When asked about this at a press conference, Thackeray said, “What is the meaning of secular...It is the provisions of the Constitution.”
