Uddhav Thackeray MOCKS BJP again, says 'SAFFRON flag has to be in one's heart, NOT just...'

Uddhav takes a dig at BJP: Uddhav Thackeray has mocked BJP again. The Shiv Sena chief said that the 'saffron flag has to be in one's heart, not just hands'. He also took a dig at the BJP claiming it to be the only Hindutva champion.

Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party and the faction headed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde by saying that the saffron flag needs to be in one's heart and not just in one's hands. Speaking to his party workers at his residence, Thackeray said, "This is an opportunity given to us by God to save democracy in the country and preserve Hindutva. The saffron flag does not have to be just in one's hands, it has to be in one's heart. It is in my heart."

It may be noted that the BJP and the Eknath Shinde faction have often accused Uddhav Thackeray of compromising on the ideals of “Hindutva” by joining hands with the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party for the sake of power. 

Thackeray asked his party workers to come in a disciplined way to the Dussehra rally, which he will address at Shivaji Park on October 5. On the ongoing case in the Supreme Court and the Election Commission on which faction of the Shiv Sena is the original one, Thackeray said, "we need to win this battle in court as well as before the EC".

In a huge setback to the Uddhav Thackeray camp, the Supreme Court, after a day-long hearing on Tuesday, declined to stop the Election Commission from deciding on the legitimacy of the Eknath Shinde faction’s claim of being the “real Shiv Sena.” 

A five-judge constitution bench, headed by Justice DY Chandrachud, said there will be no stay on proceedings before the EC to decide the intra-party dispute in Shiv Sena between Uddhav Thackeray and the faction led by chief minister Eknath Shinde, on which one is the original party and also on getting the party symbol.

The bench - also comprising Justices M R Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli, and P S Narasimha -- declined to entertain a plea by the Thackeray faction that EC should not be allowed to proceed in the matter till the apex court decides the plea pertaining to disqualification of Shiv Sena MLAs. "We direct that there would be no stay of the proceedings before the Election Commission of India," the five-judge constitution bench said.

Earlier on September 23, the Bombay High court granted permission to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction to hold its annual Dussehra rally at Mumbai's iconic Shivaji Park. Welcoming the Bombay High Court's decision, the Uddhav faction said, "its faith in the judiciary stood vindicated." Welcoming the decision, party spokesperson Manisha Kayande said this year's rally will be grand.