My party not like your degree: Uddhav attacks PM over 'fake' Shiv Sena barb

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "fake Shiv Sena" remark, and said his party was not like "your degree". Speaking at a campaign rally at Boisar near Mumbai for his party's Palghar Lok Sabha constituency candidate Bharti Kamdi, Thackeray also claimed that the opposition INDIA grouping will cross the 300-mark and defeat the BJP.

He also vowed to scrap the Vadhavan port project in Palghar district, which he said is opposed by local fishermen. Attacking the Union government and BJP, Thackeray alleged that good projects were being taken to Gujarat, while environmentally destructive projects were being introduced in Maharashtra. He also assured that a new airport will be built in Palghar.

"The Shiv Sena, founded by the Shiv Sena pramukh (Bal Thackeray) to fight for the rights of sons of soil, is being called fake. It is not your degree to call it fake," Thackeray said. Earlier this week, at a rally in Maharashtra, Modi had dubbed the Thackeray-led Sena as fake. "INDIA alliance partner DMK is talking about finishing Sanatan and linking Sanatana Dharma to malaria and dengue. And the Congress and the fake Shiv Sena are calling the same people for rallies in Maharashtra," the PM had said.

Thackeray further said he had visited the Vadhavan area and interacted with the villagers and fishermen in the late 90s. After his interaction he had conveyed their opposition to the port project to his father, Sena chief Bal Thackeray, who said the project should be scrapped, the former chief minister said.

"If you are going ahead with the Vadhavan project by not taking into consideration the concerns of people, then go ahead. We will run the people's bulldozer over this government," Thackeray said.

If Bharti Kamdi wins, she will oppose the project in the Lok Sabha, the Sena (UBT) chief added.

Earlier this year, the Vadhavan port project received environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The Rs 76,220-crore project is being developed by the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Maharashtra Maritime Board.

Thackeray, meanwhile, also accused the BJP of being "corrupt" after Amol Kirtikar, his party's North-West Mumbai candidate, was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in the "khichdi" scam in the Mumbai civic body. Notably, after the rally ended, Thackeray took a suburban local train to return to Mumbai, 110 km from Boisar. Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, Thackeray's personal assistant Milind Narvekar and a few other party leaders accompanied him in the first class compartment.