name ‘Thackeray’ can’t be stolen: Uddhav

Days after the Election Commission granted the “Shiv Sena” name and the “bow and arrow” party symbol to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde faction, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray alleged that everything has been stolen from him but the name ‘Thackeray’ cannot be stolen.
He said that they have moved the Supreme Court against the decision taken by the Election Commission. “Everything has been stolen from me. The name and symbol of our party have been stolen but the name ‘Thackeray’ cannot be stolen. We have moved the Supreme Court against the decision given by the Election Commission, the hearing will start tomorrow,” said Uddhav Thackeray. Thackeray said that the election panel should be dissolved while the matter is going on in the Supreme Court. “The Election Commission only has control over the symbol of parties… EC panel should be dissolved, the matter is going on in the Supreme Court. I received calls from Sharad Pawar, Nitish Kumar and Mamata Banerjee,” he said. He alleged that if the current scenario in the state is not stopped then anarchy would start after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“If this (the current scenario in Maharashtra) is not stopped, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections may turn out to be the last elections in the country as after that anarchy will start here,” said Uddhav Thackeray.
Addressing a press conference he said that he had requested the Election Commission, that there is a matter of suspended MLAs in the Supreme Court and until the verdict comes, don’t give the decision. “There is no question of whip being issued as now there are two factions at present which have been recognised by ECI and based on that they have got the name and symbol and we have already challenged this,” he said.
“I challenge the Shinde faction to leave the name of my father and win elections using the name of their father, by forming a party,” he added. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray faction leader Sanjay Raut on Monday refused to budge from his corruption allegations against the Election Commission on selling ‘bow and arrow symbol stressing that he stands by his statement and will show the proof at an appropriate time. Raut on 19 February alleged that deals and transactions worth Rs 2000 crore have been done so far to get the Shiv Sena party name and its “bow and arrow” symbol. Last month, both the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and former CM Uddhav Thackeray-led factions of the Shiv Sena submitted their written statements in support of their claims of control over the party name and symbol to the Election Commission.
The EC had frozen the bow and arrow symbol of the Shiv Sena and had allotted the ‘Two Swords and Shield symbol’ to the Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena and the ‘flaming torch’ (mashaal) election symbol was allotted to the Uddhav Thackeray faction for the bypoll in Andheri East assembly constituency in November last year.
However, exuding confidence in winning the election with the ‘torch’ symbol, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had challenged Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde to contest the election with the “stolen bow and arrow”, stating that the ‘battle has begun’.