Ch. Sambhajinagar: Suparis or betel nuts were thrown at Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray’s cavalcade and slogans were raised on Friday in Beed. MNS leaders and office-bearers became aggressive over the incident. They alleged that the NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) were responsible for the attack.

Raj Thackeray held a press meet on Saturday here and commented on the episode. He named Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray and criticised them.

‘I am targeted over my stance on reservations’Raj Thackeray claimed that his remarks on the Maratha reservations were intentionally twisted in news reports. “People have heard and seen what I said in Solapur. But reports were twisted later, which was shocking. They said that I was against the reservations. I set up my party in 2006. Since then I have stuck to my stand that a quota should be based on economic backwardness. I am of the opinion that Maharashtra does not need reservations.

“There is no other state like Maharashtra in the country. There is abundance of resources. People from outside the State settle here but Marathi youths do not get jobs. If we use these resources properly, our youths will not need any quota. Caste-based politics is perpetuated in the name of reservations. People are provoked.”

Raj names Pawar, Uddhav Raj Thackeray directly targeted Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray. He said, “Jarange-Patil was not even remotely connected to my tour of Marathwada. But Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray are using the Maratha agitation to target me. I can see it here. Some journalists from Marathwada are also involved in this. I know their names too. 

“They get money through contracts and then buy cars with the money. I will convey their names to persons concerned. Some journalists were provoking residents of Dharashiv. I was calling people upstairs but journalists said that I should go downstairs. Some of them are close to Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray.

“The Shiv Sena (UBT) district president was involved in the incident in Beed. They are thinking that they got votes in the Lok Sabha polls in Marathwada. Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray should know this that voting was done against Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. It was not out of love for the opposition. The Muslims voted against Modi across the country. The Dalits voted against the BJP. But these two persons are under a wrong impression. They have the same game plan for the State Assembly polls.

“The Shiv Sena (UBT) district chief was shouting the ‘Ek Maratha, Lakh Maratha’ slogan. They want to show that they are Maratha quota workers. It is being done for the State polls. People should realise this. An 83-year-old person such as Sharad Pawar claims that Maharashtra will burn like Manipur. They should be worried about this. But they have something else on their mind. They will make some things happen in the coming months in Marathwada.”