Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
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| Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray wields a sword presented to him by party workers in a meeting of booth-level chiefs of the party at Ramtek on Saturday. |
By Dheeraj Fartode
Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Shiv Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray said that the former should show aggression against Pakistan and China that were infiltrating the Indian territory.“Instead of expressing anger over Members of Parliament in his speech, Prime Minister should show courage and express outrage over actions of Pakistan and China. However, he has preferred to do nothing over killing of Indian soldiers by Pakistan, and frequent incursions of China,” said Uddhav, on Saturday. He was addressing a meeting of booth-level chiefs of Ramtek Lok Sabha constituency, at a jam-packed Takkamore Hall in Ramtek.
Shiv Sena group leader in Legislative Assembly Subhash Desai, former minister Gajanan Kirtikar, MLC Vinayak Raut, former MPs Prakash Jadhav, Prakash Jaiswal, MLAs Adv Ashish Jaiswal, Ashok Shinde, District Chief of party Shekhar Sawarbandhe, Pandurang Burade, Krupal Tumane, Raju Harne, Ramesh Bakshi, Pravin Jumale and other leaders shared the dais on this occasion.
Accusing the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government of appeasing Muslims for electoral gains, Uddhav raised the issue of Ishrat Jahan’s encounter. “If Ishrat was innocent, why was she found with terrorists in Gujarat?” he asked. At the same time, Uddhav said that Shiv Sena was not against all Muslims. “Only those against nationalism will face wrath of Sena,” he added.
Uddhav Thackeray also attacked the economist Prime Minister for failure in handling the sensitive economic scenario. “The Government ignored our advise of changing the track of economic policies. Now, the UPA Government has dumped the country,” he said. Shiv Sena chief also flayed the Prime Minister for appealing people not to buy gold. “He made the appeal as gold purchase would place import burden on the Government. Does he realise that he is acting on the directions of an imported Congress chief? Today’s Congress is not Gandhi’s Congress but a ‘Nakali Congress’ (fake Congress), which is looting money from people’s pockets,” he said.
On Food Security Bill, Uddhav said that it would jeopardise the fate of farmers. Commenting on excessive rainfall wreaking havoc in Vidarbha region, he criticised the Congress leaders at the Centre and the State for not showing any interest in wiping tears of farmers from the region. He demanded Rs 25,000 per hectare compensation to rain-affected farmers.
In a speech that evoked loud applause from Shiv Sena workers, Uddhav came down heavily on Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. “Pawar is more concerned about cricket than issues confronting farmers,” he remarked.
Referring to the latest media surveys, the Shiv Sena leader said that Shiv Sena would gain 18 Lok Sabha seats in upcoming general elections and emerge as the largest party in Maharashtra. Accusing the Congress Government of indulging in vote-bank politics and deliberately favouring Muslims while targeting Hindus, Uddhav asked party workers not to get carried away by casteist elements and stay united.
‘Shiv Sena will not part
with Ramtek LS seat’
Putting to rest the speculations about Shiv Sena leaving Ramtek Lok Sabha seat for RPI leader Ramdas Athawale, Uddhav Thackeray made it clear that his party would not part with the seat.
“Sena will not leave the seat for anyone. We will contest from this constituency with full strength and emerge victorious,” Uddhav said. Apart from Athawale, speculations were rife that alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also was willing to contest LS polls from Ramtek.
Uddhav Thackeray’s meeting at Ramtek was, in fact, an event to kick-start Shiv Sena’s Lok Sabha poll preparations. He asked party cadre to reach out to every household in the constituency and make party network stronger. He asked party workers to make the people aware about Shiv Sena’s policies and vision. “Every booth in-charge should contact voters and motivate them for exercising their franchise,” he said.
‘Will Cong leaders quit posts
for Vidarbha statehood?’
Reiterating Shiv Sena’s stand that it was committed to development of Vidarbha, Uddhav Thackeray lashed out at Congress leaders demanding statehood to Vidarbha.
“If Congress leaders are genuinely convinced about need for statehood to Vidarbha, they should follow the suit of their counterparts in Telangana and quit all posts. Congress leaders from Vidarbha should first resign as MPs. But, I am sure, they will not do that because they are not ready for sacrifice,” said Uddhav.
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