MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief
Uddhav Thackeray
took a dig at the BJP after it released its first list of 195 candidates for the
Lok Sabha polls
. Uddhav said that it was very surprising that ‘veteran leader and party loyalist
Nitin Gadkari
’s name was not on the BJP’s list but disproportionate assets case accused
Kripashankar Singh
’s name was on the first list. Uddhav said that if the BJP wins because of an EVM scam, then there will be massive unrest in the country. Uddhav said that there was misunderstanding being spread among the people that the BJP was anyway going to win because of EVMs.
“The BJP released its list of 195 candidates, forget about the dynasty but I was very surprised that their veteran, even before we heard the names of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, we have heard Nitin Gadkari’s name and have worked with him. He is BJP’s loyal worker..he even completed the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in record time. Such a person’s name is not in the BJP’s first list but the one against whom they had alleged to have disproportionate assets, Kripashankar Singh’s name is there in the list. This is today’s BJP,” Uddhav said.
72-year-old Kripa Shankar Singh has been nominated from his hometown Jaunpur. A hardcore Congress activist, Singh joined BJP on July 7, 2021 around the time he was facing probe by income tax and anti-corruption bureau in disproportionate assets and arms cases. Although he got a clean chit in the arms case after the probe found he had a valid licence for the cartridges at his home, investigations by ACB and I-T department are still in progress.
“The people are a big component of a democracy. People talk about revolutions, but revolution is done by people not by leaders, so if they (BJP) go against the will of the people, like they did in Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh. Break parties, MLAs, put them in jail and rule. This will not last for long. If they win against the will of the people by scamming EVMs, then there will be a big unrest in the country that will erupt. We are with the people and people trust us, this is our biggest capital,” Uddhav said.
