On the 52nd foundation day of Shiv Sena on Tuesday, party chief Uddhav Thackeray slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for belated wisdom dawned after sharing power with the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir and martyrdom of 600 Army jawans in the valley. He also asked the party workers to get into the election-mode.

Thackeray referred to the horrific video of slain Army jawan Aurangzeb to comment that the video was not just about the gruesome torture meted out to the jawan but it reflected the cowardice of the BJP-led government. "The unilateral ceasefire (during Ramzan) was announced by the Centre and not the state government of Jammu and Kashmir. Has Pakistan or its backed terrorists ever announced any ceasefire on their own during our festivals of Ganeshotsav, Dussera or Diwali?" Thackeray asked.

However, he lauded the BJP for its move to pull out of the J&K government. "Now, show resolve in crushing Pakistan. Then Shiv Sena will take you on its shoulders and dance on the streets." Referring to his recent meeting with representatives of Assom Gana Parishad (AGP) he claimed that the Centre is planning to bring a legislation to allow Hindus from Bangladesh to settle in India. "Terrorists in the garb of Hindus might sneak in to the country. Shiv Sena MPs will oppose the Center's proposed legislation."

Merely a fortnight after BJP president Amit Shah's visit to him at his residence, Thackeray made fun of the former's campaign, 'Sampark for Samarthan'. He directed party workers to launch a 'Satyashodhan Abhiyan' (fact finding drive) and find out how many schemes of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government have actually reached the people and whether they have actually benefited from them or not.

Thackeray also slammed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar for playing politics preferring to wear the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule styled turban over the Brahmnical Pagdi. Accusing the NCP chief of trying to divide people over caste lines, he also spurned Pawar' offer to join the Third Front of like-minded political parties.

"The fact that such offers are being made, shows that Shiv Sena's strength is increasing by the day. If these people want to forge an alliance of like-minded parties just to get back to power, ignoring the cries of the people for relief and welfare measures, then Shiv Sena stands for using power for the welfare of the people and not one's own welfare," Thackeray said.

He made clear his opposition to Centre's pet-projects like the bullet train and Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway. "It is a plan to slowly decrease the importance of Mumbai. Shiv Sena is opposing these infrastructure projects that really don't benefit the locals. It is a conspiracy to turn Mumbai as Gujarat's suburb," Thackeray alleged.

He called upon party cadres to make a resolve that they shall unfurl the saffron flag in the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. He reiterated his announcement that the Shiv Sena will have its next chief minister beating every other opponent in the way.

Earlier in the day, Thackeray's son and a party leader Aditya Thackeray announced that Shiv Sena will contest the ensuing Assembly elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

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