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Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court ruling on Article 370 and wondered whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would now “guarantee” Kashmiri Pandits’ safe return to their home state, and hoped the BJP government would also take control of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
“We welcome the verdict of the apex court and the directions to conduct elections in the state. We had supported the abrogation of Article 370. We also welcome the Supreme Court’s directives to conduct elections by next September. We hope that elections are held soon and people get to vote in a free atmosphere. We also hope that PoK is also merged into Kashmir and elections are held there also,” Thackeray said.
Also, the former Maharashtra chief minister took on Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asking if the BJP leader would take a stand on Praful Patel that is similar to the one he had taken on Nawab Malik, who has sided with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, which is part of the government.
“The allegations against Praful Patel are similar to the allegations against Nawab Malik. You expressed your strong feelings against inducting Malik into the grand alliance. If you are taking such a stand against Malik, how can you be okay with Praful Patel, against whom there are allegations of doing financial transactions with Iqbal Mirchi?
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself in a rally in BKC and criticised Patel stating that there are some people who are dealing with Mirchi. So I want to ask whether you are still going to be in government with those who have had dealings with Mirchi and if the action initiated against Patel would continue. So you are distancing from Malik. Are you going to keep Patel away from the government?” Uddhav said after attending the council proceedings at the Vidhan Bhavan in Nagpur.
Malik, out on bail in a money-laundering case, created a stir when he sat on a treasury-bench seat in the Assembly on Thursday morning, leading to speculation that he had aligned with the Ajit Pawar faction. Later in the day, he was also seen sitting in the faction’s Vidhan Bhavan office.
Fadnavis later wrote a letter to colleague and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar stating that it would be “inappropriate” to include Malik in the ruling alliance in view of the pending case and charges against him.
The Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress questioned the BJP on Friday over accepting senior NCP leader Praful Patel, whose property was attached by the Enforcement Directorate, in the ruling alliance. The ED case is related to gangster Iqbal Mirchi, considered close to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
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