Uddhav Thackeray: Uddhav Thackeray bats for opposition dialogue as AAP accuses Congress of suppressing CJP protest
His remarks came in response to AAP’s claim that the Congress was the “B Team” of the BJP and staged a protest in front of the Chief Minister’s residence on Tuesday to suppress the agitation by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), suggesting that there were differences within the opposition over the ongoing student protest.
“We have to stand behind the youth. I stand with the youth, that’s why I met Abhijeet (Dipke). Just as the government should talk to the youth, the opposition should also talk to each other,” Thackeray, who arrived in Delhi on Tuesday evening and went to Jantar Mantar to meet the CJP founder, told a press conference.
Read more: Mumbai sees day 2 of pro-CJP protests; Raj criticizes government and Sena (UBT) for providing legal aid to activists
Hours after the press conference, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal met Thackeray at Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut’s residence here.
Thackeray said he had supported the students’ agitation from the very beginning and accused the Center of refusing to engage with them even though the protests continued for over a month.
Thackeray said, “I have supported this protest since day one. Young people are the future of the country. If you crush them, they will not accept it. When you call them cockroaches, it exceeds the limits of tolerance. If a dictatorship is imposed on the country, young people will not remain silent.” he said. Questioning the government’s handling of the agitation, the former Maharashtra chief minister said dialogue was the essence of democracy.
“What is wrong in talking to young people? They have been protesting for more than a month. If the government had talked to them, the problem would have been solved,” he said.
“Whenever anyone organizes a protest, it is the duty of the government to go and talk to them. If they have had a misconception, it is the responsibility of the government to correct it through dialogue. If the government had talked to them on the first day, things would never have come to this point,” Thackeray said. he said.
Recalling previous examples of governments engaging with protesters, Thackeray said former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi personally met Sonam Wangchuk’s father during the hunger strike in Leh, while the UPA government appointed the then Union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to hold talks with Anna Hazare during the anti-corruption movement.
Thackeray said that if the government can keep dialogue channels open with Pakistan despite accusing it of supporting terrorism, it should not hesitate to contact protesting students.
Read more: Uddhav Thackeray supported CJP and Sonam Wangchuk’s protest and urged the activist to end it immediately
He cited RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s remarks in an interview with PTI in May that there should always be a window for dialogue between civil societies in India and Pakistan.
Condemning the police action against protesters on Monday, Thackeray claimed that women and even young girls were being attacked.
“I saw young girls of 9-10 years old and many women… The way they were treated, I don’t believe Hindu culture approves of such behavior towards women. One girl had her clothes torn. Is this Hindu culture? This is Ravana culture,” he said.
