Drought at the centre of the Dasara rallies: Uddhav Thackeray at Shivaji Park, Eknath Shinde at NESCO; who said what

Both Shiv Sena factions held their Dasara rallies in Mumbai today. Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) chief Uddhav Thackeray addressed supporters at Shivaji Park in Dadar, and Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief leader Eknath Shinde at the NESCO ground in Goregaon. The drought in the state and aid for farmers ran through both speeches. Pudhari described this as the 60th Dasara rally in the tradition Balasaheb Thackeray began in 1966.

Shivaji Park: what Uddhav Thackeray said

• Drought and aid: Saying “the drought is huge and fearsome”, he criticised the ₹5,000 given to farmers. He said Namo Kisan instalments had not been paid and asked how many people had actually benefited from the loan waiver (Pudhari, TV9 Marathi).
• Voting rights: Alleging that “the voting rights of 13 crore citizens have been taken away”, he raised the issue of new voters (TV9 Marathi, Sarkarnama).
• Youth protests: Saying police were sending notices even before protests, he said young people who take to the streets against injustice are not Naxalites. “Whoever does not rise up in anger against injustice should not take Shivaji Maharaj’s name,” he said (Sarkarnama, TV9 Marathi).
• Saffron flag and change of government: “The saffron flag must fly not only over the Maharashtra assembly but over the Red Fort,” he said, claiming the government at the Centre would change (Pudhari, Sarkarnama).
• Mumbai and the Marathi people: Referring to Amit Shah calling Maharashtra the country’s largest multilingual state, he said: “Mumbai came to Maharashtra because Marathi people shed their blood” (Pudhari).
• Hindutva: “Our Hindutva is one of patriotism,” he said (Pudhari).

NESCO: what Eknath Shinde said

• Farmers’ daughters’ weddings: Announcing that “Shiv Sena has taken responsibility for the weddings of daughters of farmers who have a wedding due”, Shinde said mass wedding ceremonies would be organised, and told MPs and MLAs to draw up lists of such families (TV9 Marathi).
• Urgent aid: Calling “the ₹5,000 urgent aid”, he promised: “We will not let farmers’ Diwali be dark.” He said 100 trucks of Diwali rations had left for drought-hit villages (TV9 Marathi, Saam TV).
• Loan waiver: He said a ₹32,000 crore plan for a loan waiver was ready, TV9 Marathi reported.
• The 2019 change of government: Targeting Uddhav Thackeray, he said: “You became chief minister through the back door”, and called 2019 “the biggest vote theft” (TV9 Marathi).
• A question for the opposition: “This is not the time for trading accusations,” he said, asking the opposition: “Did you ever give farmers even a packet of biscuits?” He added: “We are not the ones who give speeches; we are the ones who give rations” (TV9 Marathi, Saam TV).

One aid package, two positions

The ₹5,000 announced for farmers figured in both speeches. Thackeray used it to criticise the government, while Shinde described it as urgent aid and set out further measures.

Sources: Pudhari (Thackeray); Sarkarnama (Thackeray); TV9 Marathi (Thackeray); TV9 Marathi (Shinde); TV9 Marathi (Shinde, weddings); Saam TV (Shinde)