"Huge Dissatisfaction Among People Against Governor": Uddhav Thackeray

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday claimed there was "huge dissatisfaction" among the people of Maharashtra against Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari over his controversial comments on revered icons and wondered why he was still holding on to the top constitutional post.

Addressing a press conference in Nagpur, where the winter session of the state legislature is currently on, the former chief minister also spoke about the Maharashtra-Karnataka border row and alleged Marathi-speaking people were facing "injustice" in the adjoining state.

Criticizing the Governor over his "insensitive" statements on icons of Maharashtra, Thackeray said, "Koshyari ji, for the last 15 days, is sending letters and asking what he should do. Any person having self-respect, after seeing huge dissatisfaction among the people of Maharashtra, would have resigned by now." Earlier this month, Koshyari wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah stating he would never imagine even in his dream to insult icons like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The Governor is facing flak from the Opposition for his comments that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is an "icon of olden times", triggering calls for his removal from office.

The Governor said some portions of a speech delivered at a university were selectively picked and used for creating a controversy. Koshyari, in the letter, also sought 'appropriate guidance' from Shah in the wake of the controversy.

On the Karnataka-Maharashtra border row, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader said even after Union Home Minister Shah's intervention to resolve the matter, reports are coming about Marathi-speaking people facing "torture and injustice" in the southern state.

"Will the Maharashtra government say anything on it? he asked.

Karnataka villages with Marathi-speaking people should have merged with Maharashtra, but instead of that happening, Telangana and Gujarat are now trying to assert their right over some rural areas of the western state, the former CM said.

"Similarly, industrial projects earlier planned to come up in Maharashtra are getting shifted elsewhere. The main question is what is this government doing on these important issues?" he asked, targeting the Eknath Shinde-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dispensation.