Sack Maharashtra government, impose President’s Rule: Uddhav

Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday (February 10) sought the dismissal of the Eknath Shinde government and President’s rule in the state over poor law and order situation.

He made the demand in the wake of the murder of a leader of his Shiv Sena, Abhishek Ghosalkar (40), at Dahisar in Mumbai two days back.

'Protecting mobsters'

"We demand the dismissal of the Maharashtra government. We also demand that President's rule be imposed in the state and fresh polls be conducted," Thackeray told the media.

The former chief minister accused the state government of protecting mobsters.

"If police are given a free hand, they can put all mobsters behind bars in 24 hours, but the mobsters enjoy the support of the government," Thackeray said.

Ghosalkar’s murder

He raised questions over the way Ghosalkar was killed.

Ghosalkar, son of Sena leader Vinod Ghosalkar, was shot dead during a Facebook Live by a businessman and social activist, Mauris Noronha, on February 8 evening. Noronha later killed himself, police said.

Thackeray said the Facebook Live does not show that Noronha killed Ghosalkar.

Supari killings?

"Why did Noronha kill himself after killing Ghosalkar?" Thackeray asked.

"Mauris did not have a licensed weapon but he used his bodyguard's pistol to shoot. Were the bullets shot by Mauris or anybody else? Had anyone given supari (contract) to kill both?"

On February 2, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Ganpat Gaikwad shot and injured a local leader of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena at a police station in Ulhasnagar near Mumbai over a land dispute.

Who fired shots?

"Gaikwad's video was leaked. (In Ghosalkar's case) One can see that shots are being fired at Ghosalkar but it is unclear who shot the bullets," Thackeray said.

He dubbed home minister Devendra Fadnavis as "cruel" for his remarks over the incident, and said the state has a "mentally ill" home minister.

(With agency inputs)