7 months ago
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With expanding buzz astir a imaginable governmental confederation betwixt the Thackeray cousins, the Maharashtra Congress has expressed reluctance to articulation hands with immoderate enactment that has a polarisation agenda.
Constitutional values and secularism are non-negotiables for the Congress, the party’s State main Harshwardhan Sapkal told The Hindu erstwhile asked astir the anticipation of a concern with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. “We are strictly against polarisation... If idiosyncratic wants to beryllium a portion of the alliance, they volition person to hold with Constitutional values,” helium said, though helium made it wide that determination has not yet been immoderate connection for the MNS to articulation the alliance.
He emphasised that immoderate determination connected concern with the MNS is not up to the Congress alone, nor is it a telephone for the Maha Vikas Aghadi, a State-level confederation of the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar), and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT). “If immoderate caller confederation spouse is to beryllium added to the governmental equation successful Maharashtra, each the INDIA bloc parties volition person to beryllium unneurotic and instrumentality a telephone connected it,” Mr. Sapkal insisted.
Thackeray cousins’ bonhomie
Mr. Sapkal’s remarks summation value against the backdrop of the increasing proximity betwixt Mr. Uddhav Thackeray and his relative Mr. Raj Thackeray, up of section assemblage elections which are soon to beryllium announced successful Maharashtra.
Mr. Raj Thackeray precocious shared the signifier with each the leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi erstwhile they met Election Commission officials to kick astir alleged irregularities successful the electoral rolls. Two days later, the Thackeray cousins came unneurotic again for a Diwali programme inauguration wherever some their families were seen together. Their increasing bonhomie has led to speculation astir a imaginable confederation betwixt their parties for the section assemblage polls.
‘No governmental proposal’
Asked if the Congress would beryllium unfastened to a caller confederation spouse if the cousins travel unneurotic for the elections, Mr. Sapkal said: ”It is not conscionable the Congress, but the INDIA bloc partners which volition determine astatine the nationalist level if they privation immoderate caller spouse oregon not. Maha Vikas Aghadi is not determination anymore. We are the INDIA bloc now. And, determination is nary specified treatment truthful far. There is nary specified connection arsenic yet. If the cousins meet, their families are coming together, we don’t person immoderate problems with it. Congress has been propagating ‘Mohabbat ki dukaan (shop of love)‘. That is their idiosyncratic relationship. Politically, determination is nary specified proposal.”
The Maharashtra Congress main pointed retired that though the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress besides held antithetic ideologies, the 2 parties had travel unneurotic connected the ground of a Common Minimum Programme.
Polarisation unacceptable
“Our precedence is Constitutional values. We are against the BJP’s halfway ideology. Someone has to wide their stance, past we tin spell up and talk. If they privation to negotiate, they person to hold with the law values,” Mr. Sapkal said, laying down the crushed rules for immoderate confederation proposal. “Constitutional values are non-negotiable. We are strictly against polarisation of votes connected the ground of religion, caste, gender, geography, region, language. If idiosyncratic wants to polarise, we can’t tolerate it. It is mandatory for america to instrumentality secularism ahead. We are against specified authorities by default,” helium said.
Several different Congress leaders person already expressed their apprehensions astir being aligned with Mr. Raj Thackeray owed to his beardown anti-migrant stance and statements seen to beryllium anti-Muslim. With upcoming elections successful Bihar, location to galore of Mumbai’s migrant workers, the Congress cadres and enactment successful Maharashtra are not comfy with bringing the MNS onboard.
Local alliances
The Congress has besides decided to let its territory level enactment to determine connected section alliances for the section assemblage polls. “The equations for the section assemblage elections are different. Congress, implicit 7 months ago, had a communal statement successful the party. All decisions should not beryllium taken successful Mumbai with respect to section assemblage elections. We request to decentralise decision-making. District units should instrumentality decisions,” Mr. Sapkal said. “We person taken this determination a agelong clip ago. And we person communicated it to our confederation partners arsenic well. In each district, we person spoken with the office-bearers of the party. Alliances volition beryllium done astatine territory level only, not astatine State level. Both the options — pre-election and post-election [alliances] — are open,” helium said.
He added that the section enactment units successful Mumbai had expressed their tendency to combat the section assemblage elections connected their ain strength. “We request to respect the sentiment of our cadres for warring the elections alone. Alliance has go a governmental compulsion successful Maharashtra. It is an ovum archetypal oregon chickenhearted archetypal situation. There are six players successful Maharashtra close now,” Mr. Sapkal said.
