20 July,2026 06:47 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Uddhav Thackeray says youth`s future has been stolen, backs Sonam Wangchuk (File pic)
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday attacked the BJP-led Centre, saying a fight should now be launched to change a government that is not accountable.
Addressing a rally in Mumbai, the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief and former Chief Minister accused the government of stealing the future of the youth, referring to alleged irregularities in the NEET exam and student suicides tied to it, which prompted activist Sonam Wangchuk to launch a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in the national capital.
While Uddhav also staged a massive protest earlier on Sunday, he also dared the Modi government to implement "One Nation, One Election".
The criticism of the government by Thackeray, whose party recently saw six of its Lok Sabha MPs switching over to the rival Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, came on the eve of Parliament's Monsoon session.
The former Maharashtra CM asserted, "The resignation of (Union Education Minister) Dharmendra Pradhan is a small issue. The fight now should be to change the government which cannot give employment, education and answers (accountability)", as per PTI.
Thackeray also asked how Wangchuk, who built solar tents for soldiers working in sub-zero temperatures and created ice stupas to address water woes in Ladakh, can be described as anti-national.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader further highlighted that the erstwhile UPA government under then prime minister Manmohan Singh sent a delegation to hold talks with social activist Anna Hazare when he was on an indefinite hunger strike in 2011, according to PTI.
Why did the Modi government not do so with Wangchuk?, the former Maharashtra chief minister asked.
He also slammed the Centre over the way the activist was whisked away by Delhi police on Saturday.
Thackeray said, "Are you catching a terrorist? The Modi government may have covered Wangchuk with bed sheets, but it can't hide the truth," as cited by PTI.
Wangchuk was taken forcibly to Safdarjung Hospital by police on the 21st day of his hunger strike. He has been on an indefinite hunger strike since June 28 in support of the CJP-led protest over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination and the reported deaths of students linked to the controversy.
"We neither want Dharmendra Pradhan nor this government," Thackeray said, adding that the fire seen in the youth now must persist till this government is in power.
He further added, "This fight is not of Sonam Wangchuk alone. They have stolen the future of the country."
The former CM claimed there are reports that the government is readying for a war at Jantar Mantar, the site of the Cockroach Janta Party-led protest.
"Had the government prepared for NEET exams properly, the government wouldn't have faced this situation," Uddhav Thackeray said.
(With inputs from PTI)
