Uddhav Thackeray says he is treated with respect in MVA, alleges trust deficit with BJP

In a veiled attack on former ally BJP, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said acting with "lust for power" during the coronavirus pandemic will lead to "anarchy". Saving lives was the most important thing now, he said.

Participating in an online interaction organised by Marathi daily Loksatta, Thackeray said people wouldn't forgive him if he didn't provide clarity on why he wanted power.

"If people who voted for me do not survive the COVID- 19 pandemic, what is the use of power," he said. "Acting with lust for power amid COVID-19 will lead to anarchy," he said, without naming the opposition party. Becoming chief minister was never his goal, and his promise to his father, Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray on making a Sena worker chief minister "is yet to be fulfilled", Thackeray said.

"I was never politically inclined. I came into politics to help my father. A pandemic after 100 years happens during my tenure as CM. I have never shied away from
responsibility. I am doing what I can to the best of my ability," he said.

Queried on whether the Sena's alliance with the BJP, which ended on a bitter note post the 2019 Assembly polls, could be revived again, Thackeray said there was a trust deficit in the relations after the demise of BJP leaders Pramod Mahajan and Gopinath Munde.

"The BJP is now Delhi-centric. In an alliance, there has to be openness to air differences and resolve them. My new allies (NCP and Congress) treat me with respect. The MVA is an alliance where we had differences, so we are more open now," he said.

The alliance with the BJP saw its "golden period" when the two parties were in opposition with the saffron ideology holding them together and there was mutual trust and respect, Thackeray added. To another question, he said Congress chief Sonia Gandhi does call him often.

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Press Trust of India