Show guts, put me in jail: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray to BJP

Coming down heavily on the opposition for lsquousing the Central agenciesrsquo Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray challenged the BJP to put him in jail to retain power in the state He challenged the former ally to fight him directly instead of raiding his family members and MVA leadersCM Thackeray was responding to the oppositionrsquos motion on the last day of the budget session ldquoLet me come with youhellip not to share power with you Put me in jail if you want power Then inquire as per your conveniencerdquo he said in the Assembly on Friday He cautioned the BJP against troubling Shiv Sainiks who saved Mumbai during the communal riots because ldquohe was responsible for themrdquo Taking a cue from mythology he said when he is put in jail Krishna will be born to exterminate evilBreaking silence over the EDrsquos action against his brotherinlaw the CM said the opposition had stooped to a new low in defaming families He asked whether the ED was BJPrsquos domestic help ldquoFight me directly if you have the guts Why raid and defame our families Have we bothered your familiesrdquo he asked ldquoIndira Gandhi had the courage to declare the emergency but you have enforced it unannouncedrdquo he addedHe questioned the oppositionrsquos submission regarding corruption in his government and Mumbai civic body calling it a baseless and oftrepeated rant ldquoBased on such information you ask for the resignation of Nawab Malikrdquo He wondered why the Central agencies were not able to find Dawood ldquoMalik supposedly having links with Dawood has been roaming free and won elections many times and the agencies didnrsquot have a clue about it What were the agencies doing Banging utensilsrdquo he saidHe suggested that the opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis be drafted into the RampAW and CBIrsquos service because he said he had provided information to the agencies He wondered if the BJP planned to use fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahimrsquos name for seeking votes ldquoYou asked for votes in the name of Ram Now itrsquos Dawood Did the then US President Obama use Osama bin Laden to seek votes He killed Osama in his home in the country He didnrsquot ask anyone for permission Why canrsquot you kill Dawood the same wayrdquo he said reiterating that his Hindutva was hardcore unlike the parties that sat in power with the leaders who wanted terror convict Afzal Guru pardonedHe also said that Malik and Anil Deshmukh would be sitting together with the BJP had the lsquoearly morning experimentrsquo BJPrsquos government formation with Ajit Pawar succeeded He accused the BJP of giving clean chits to those who joined itlsquoNo corruption in BMCrsquoThackeray said the BMC has done a lot for Mumbairsquos development He listed the success of civic schools healthcare and sanitation facilities and the COVID19 care model that was accepted globally ldquoDid any other state build the jumbo COVID care centres like us We didnrsquot have bodies floating in the riversrdquo he saidHe said procurements during the pandemic were done as per the Centrersquos guidelines and when things were not available PM Narendra Modi had ensured equitable supply to all the states The tendering process was done at a short notice because saving lives was a top priority then he added ldquoBMC has done a fabulous job The Dharavi pattern is a glaring examplerdquoThe CM said the sewage treatment plant tenders were revised as per the new rules and 6075 per cent higher bidding was examined by IIT experts who found no fault with the BMC and the process is now being monitored by the Supreme CourtHe said a plot in Dahisar was acquired from a builder after the revenue department assessed the cost He said the then CM Fadnavis had put a remark on the then opposition leader Dhananjayrsquos Mundersquos letter that the needful was done He said the plot will be used for constructing a hospital because even a local BJP legislator wanted it He blamed the railways for not transferring its land for the Dharavi redevelopment project and taking the side of Karnataka in a border dispute with Maharashtra He dismissed the allegation of cost escalation of Rs 10000 crore in the Metro 3 project in his tenure saying the proposal was moved by the Fadnavis government He asked the exCM to verify what went wrong then