New Delhi: In an exclusive conversation with Republic Media Network’s Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami Union Minister Piyush Goyal lambasted Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray saying that he sacrificed every principle of his father Balasahab Thackeray just for sake of his personal ambitions. Goyal ripped apart Uddhav Thackeray’s political stance to go ally with the Congress to become the chief minister of Maharashtra saying that Thackeray sacrificed on the Hindutva, he even gave up on ‘Lord Ram’ and got into the politics of appeasement just to fulfill his ambition to become the chief minister. The Union Minister asserted that the people of Maharashtra will teach him a lesson during the Lok Sabha elections that principle matters and not personal ambitions.

When asked by Arnab Goswami that this year’s Lok Sabha elections contest is not exactly that of 2019, since BJP’s older ally the Shiv Sena has split, which had won 3 out of 6 seats in Mumbai and how the split will impact the voting pattern in Mumbai and across the state, Piyush Goyal responded by saying that the then Shiv Sena under Uddhav Thackeray won the elections as they had fought the 2019 elections both the Lok Sabha and the State Assembly elections under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

2019 elections were won under PM Modi's leadership: Piyush Goyal

Union Minister Goyal said, “Uddhav Thackeray and his party, the then Shiv Sena had fought the 2019 elections both the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and declaring Devendra Fadnavis as the chief minister candidate of the alliance and the elections were won. But, for petty personal gain and his ambition to become chief minister, Mr Uddhav Thackeray sacrificed every single principle ‘Hindu-Hridya Samrat Balasahad Thackeray’ formed the Shiv Sena.”

“He sacrificed the Hindutva, he even gave up on ‘Maryada Purshottam Lord Ram’. He went and sat in the lap of Rahul Gandhi and got into the politics of appeasement. He demonstrated high levels of corruption in the 2.5 years that he led the state as the chief minister, a period during which he never went to the chief minister’s office. All the development works in Maharashtra had come to a standstill and therefore almost all the Shiv Sainik MLAs, MPs, their workers and leaders decided that they cannot work under a leader like Uddhav Thackeray and the Shiv Sena in a way almost threw him out,” Goyal alleged.

“So, the Shiv Sena remains intact under the leadership of Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, who is upholding every principle on which the Shiv Sena was formed by Balasahab Thackeray. He has reinstated the Hindutva in Shiv Sena, he has brought respect to the Shiv Sena and the natural alliance of the BJP-Shiv Sena is back on the track,” the Union Minister emphasized. 

Piyush Goyal remembered Balasaheb Thackeray

Rubbing the rumours that Uddhav Thackeray’s split as a BJP ally will impact the voting pattern in Maharashtra, Piyush Goyal explained the political arithmetic saying, “You call it a split, I call it a small faction of father-son duo, one or two chronics around them, who are running a splinter group of the Shiv Sena. But the people of Maharashtra will give them such a befitting response in these elections and will make sure that they understand that if you sacrifice the principles of the Shiv Sena and the principles on which ‘Hindu Hridya Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray’ ran his party.”

“You know he (Balasaheb Thackeray) had said that he would rather close the Shiv Sena, then ever ally with the Congress, but Uddhav Thackeray ji has truly made all of us ashamed by his treacherous behaviour and the people in Maharashtra will elect the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and the BJP and our alliance and show Mr Uddhav Thackeray that principle matters and personnel ambition will not be tolerated,” he stated.