- 7 minutes ago
Speaking at the India Today Mumbai Conclave in an interview with Rajdeep Sardesai, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray addressed issues concerning institutional integrity, electoral processes, and governance. Thackeray voiced criticism of the Election Commission of India regarding the Special Intensive Revision process, claiming that legitimate voters were omitted from draft electoral rolls, and demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Referring to past complaints from the Mumbai Northwest constituency, he contested assertions that opposition parties only question EVMs and voter lists following electoral losses. Thackeray termed the past ten years a lost decade for national employment, economic growth, and infrastructure quality, while projecting that the next general election could occur prior to 2029. He highlighted Shiv Sena (UBT)'s plan to field younger candidates, addressed Maharashtra's civic amenities, road conditions, and drought relief measures, and affirmed support for Rahul Gandhi within the INDIA alliance.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:10Namaskar, hello and welcome to the India Today Mumbai conclave, where as has been the tradition
00:17over the last few years, we have someone who seems to go younger by the day, seems to keep
00:25fit and young, even though, if I may say so, you are out of power and not in power anymore.
00:32Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Shiv Sena leader, the gen next of the Shiv Sena,
00:38Arithya Thakre. You want to tell us what keeps you, you look much the same over these years,
00:46out of power, in power, your fitness regime remains the same, you have more time perhaps
00:52now that you are out of power, to stay fit?
00:56No, I am just wondering who was sitting on this chair before me, and trying to get cosy
01:00in the chair again.
01:02Mr. Fatnamis has also lost weight, you know, we had, so he has lost weight, but gained politically,
01:09you seem to have lost weight, but lost politically.
01:14I mean, the whole point is this, that you do not get attached to power, you do not get attached
01:18to positions. You said you are looking younger, maybe, but I just try to, you know, keep my
01:26running around going on, that's it, not even running, just running around, meeting people,
01:30reach as much as possible and not take victories and losses to your heart. I think that's the
01:35most important thing.
01:37Let, you know, let's get straight to the politics. Since we last met, there have been two major
01:41blows that the Shiv Sena suffered. Your parliamentary party split, and most of the MPs have gone
01:50over to the Shiv Sena Shinde group. And crucially, you lost the Mumbai municipal election, where
01:57you had controlled the BMC for almost three decades. Would you agree, therefore, that the
02:04Shiv Sena UBT is facing an existential crisis? This is a crisis of, will the Shiv Sena UBT be
02:11the Shiv Sena of the Thakre family survive or not?
02:17Rajseep Ji, again, I would not want to make it all about ourselves. This is not about Shiv
02:21Sena, this is not about us. This is about the country, this is about democracy, this is
02:25about your vote, my vote, and the voice and the right that we have to vote. The crucial
02:30point here is, if you see now what's happening in Delhi, if you see what's happening across
02:35the country, we spoke about vote churi two, two and a half years ago. Probably we are the
02:39only party that's been speaking about EVM since the year 2008-2009, and we've remained
02:44constant on that. But Chalo, let me just bring you to the fact of what has been exposed.
02:50During the Lok Sabha elections, between the Lok Sabha and the Vidana Sabha, you saw 45 lakh
02:54voters increasing in a span of four months in Maharashtra. The results came out as they
03:00were, the difference between the Lok Sabha and the Vidana Sabha, you saw it was for everyone
03:03to see. But to give you one figure for Mumbai, when we started working on vote churi, was
03:09in Mumbai when you had voters up to almost 1 crore 31 lakh people who were electors or
03:15voters in Mumbai. When we started going into the depths of it, we found that almost 30 lakh
03:20voters were fraudulent. 30 lakh out of 1 crore 31 lakh. 30 lakh voters were fraudulent or you
03:27had duplicates, you had people who were non-existing, you had people who were shown above the age
03:31of 100 but dead, long gone, all of these. 30 lakh voters who were sort of fraudulent or problematic.
03:38Taking this thing ahead, we started doing a deeper study, of course, moving towards BMC
03:42because that is something we obviously wanted to win, like we wanted to win the Vidana Sabha
03:46and the Lok Sabha. We gave a list of 17 lakh voters to the election commission in Maharashtra,
03:53in Mumbai, saying these are fraudulent voters. These names, for example, Rajdeep Sardesai
03:58has appeared 5 times in this electoral list, please get it cleaned. They put their hands up
04:03saying, sir, what can we do? The list of the list is, we have to follow them. 17 lakh voters.
04:09Going beyond that, the BMC elections, if you see our performance, we've won 65 seats, right?
04:16A precursor to that, or just a background to that was, in the last 4 years, Eknach Chinde
04:21or the BJP took away 54 of our sitting operators. 54. They took away hundreds of our workers below
04:28Shaka Pramukhs. And yet, the BJP only marginally increased from 82 to 89 and we've remained
04:36at 65. I mean, we were at 89, but we've come to 65 despite money power, despite every other agency
04:44going against us. We've remained at that. So that is the trust of Mumbai in the name Uddha
04:48Bala Sahib Thakre. And I think that remains so.
04:50No, no. Two questions arise from what you have said. One, very clearly, if you say that there
04:56have been a large number of... In fact, in fact... No, no, one minute.
04:58One second. Rachif, let me just add something here. This afternoon, I may be doing a press
05:03conference. Please do cover it because there is something more coming out on vote chori.
05:06Some startling details. No, no. So, you know, this whole vote chori that you're talking about,
05:10you're saying there is vote chori, but you're also saying in the same breath that there have
05:14been a large number of fraudulent duplicate voters in Mumbai itself, right? Election commission
05:19is saying we are cleaning up the rolls. We are removing those very same duplicate fraudulent
05:25voters in a city like Mumbai. What's wrong with that?
05:29Do you want to wait for yourself?
05:30No, no. Do you want to wait for yourself?
05:31I'll tell you what. I'll tell you what. I'll tell you. My hope was genuine in SIR. We thought
05:37that the SIR would clean up the list.
05:39Yes.
05:40But today what we are seeing are some startling details where lax and lax of voters who have
05:45voted in 2002, who have voted in 2007, who have voted in 2009, who have voted in 2014,
05:50who have voted in 2019, who have voted in 2024, who have voted right now in 2026 have
05:57been omitted from the list. Lax and lax of voters. The SIR, if conducted properly, would
06:03have been a huge boon for India. But today, as it goes, and you've seen our election commission
06:08also, he's also made a formal complaint with the ECI saying give us the authority to take
06:14call at the local level. EROs don't have power.
06:16So let's be very clear. You're saying you're not against the SIR. You want an SIR. You want
06:22a clean up of the roles. You're saying the manner in which it's been executed with lax
06:26of voters losing out at the moment on a draft electoral roll, mind you only. It's the execution
06:32you have a problem with, not with an SIR per se. Am I correct?
06:36I think that's what everyone's saying. Everyone wants a clean list.
06:38No, no, no. I'll tell you why. There are those who are saying we want a pre-SIR. The
06:43Kokhrut Janata Party is saying please go back to electoral rolls pre-SIR. The Congress is
06:48saying suspend the entire SIR process. Is that what you're saying also?
06:52I'll tell you why. I'll tell you why everyone's saying this. Because the special intensive revision
06:56is supposed to be carried out in special times. One. Two, if you genuinely believe that
07:01a special intensive revision is supposed to be carried out right now, conducted in a clean,
07:06clear, fair and fearless manner. Why are you going by the dictates of the BJP? Why is
07:12Gyanesh Kumar serving the BJP and not the country? This is Deshdrui and this is what everyone's
07:18against. Bring someone like Mr. TN Session. Bring someone like Tukaram Munde. Hold us
07:24accountable if you want to. But conduct an SIR which is free and fair. Today what is happening
07:28is an exercise that is happening for the benefit of the BJP by Gaddar, Gyanesh and Seema
07:33Akhanna. That is what everyone is against.
07:36No, no. You know, let's be very clear. You're saying bring back a TN Session like figure to
07:42head the post of Chief Election Commissioner. The BJP says even when there were Chief Election
07:49Commissioners during the Congress rule at the center, those election commissioners according
07:55to the BJP were beholden to the Congress government. The problem is the manner in which election commissioners
08:01in this country are chosen. So, I mean, let's be very clear. Is this about an individual
08:06or an institution? You have, does Aditya Thakre have faith in the election commission? Yes
08:12or no? No. Not the current one. I've seen the working of the current election commission.
08:16I do not have faith in the current election commission. Two, about what the BJP says about
08:20tab aise tha, ab aise hai, ab pehle aise tha. There have been so many people that the BJP has
08:24accused of scams and what not and taken them into the BJP and made Chief Ministers and Deputy
08:28Chief Ministers. How can you trust the BJP? Mr. Aditya Thakre, if you are coming here
08:32and saying that you have no faith in the election commission under Gyanesh Kumar or Gyanesh Kumar
08:36as Chief Election Commissioner and he carries on in the elections. He will go. Will you boycott
08:42the, no, no. He will go. I want a clear answer. Will you boycott an election tomorrow if Gyanesh Kumar
08:47carries on as the Chief Election Commissioner? Gyanesh Kumar will go. Let's not go into ifs and
08:51buts. Gyanesh Kumar will have to go. And what if he doesn't go? Let's not go into ifs and buts.
08:54He will
08:55have to go. We are reclaiming democracy from an autocratic regime and we will do that.
09:02No, I want again, you see, because this sounds very, you know, the audience will clap. And
09:08they will come out on the streets with us. The Modi government and the BJP has made it
09:11very clear. There is no reason for Gyanesh Kumar to go. According to them, he is cleaning
09:16up the rolls. He is taking out, according to the BJP, illegal infiltrators from the country.
09:22Why should he go? The opposition loses elections. Instead of getting their act together, they
09:27are blaming vote chori. I have two simple questions for the BJP. One, why are you defending
09:32the election commission? Every time a question is pointed towards the election commission,
09:36the saltiness comes from the BJP. Because you are attacking the BJP. You are saying Gyanesh
09:40Kumar is handing club with the BJP. Sorry? Are you saying Gyanesh Kumar is BJP? No, no,
09:46you are saying Gyanesh Kumar is handing club with the BJP. Of course I am saying, the whole
09:50country is saying. Two, if there are so many illegal infiltrators, where have they come
09:54from? This whole story about so many Bangladeshis and so many Rohingyas, are you saying that for
10:02the past 10 or 12 years, the home minister of the country and the defense minister of the
10:06country is so weak that they haven't been able to manage our borders efficiently? Under
10:10whose watch have so many infiltrators come in?
10:14Do you believe that there are a large number of illegal immigrants in a city like Mumbai?
10:18I haven't seen any. But if there are, come on, let's get them out. But the point is, how
10:22did they come? Where is Bangladesh? Where is Mumbai? To cross over from the border and
10:26to cross so many BJP-run states and to come and settle in Mumbai, which has been run by the
10:30BJP for the last 12 years, barring the two and a half years that we had, the home minister
10:35being the chief minister himself, don't you think it's a failure of the BJP then? Do
10:39you think they have allowed the infiltrators inside India?
10:42Let me push you one last time on this Gyanesh Kumar question. If tomorrow…
10:47We are pushing Gyanesh Kumar. You can push me as much as you want.
10:49No, no. If Gyanesh Kumar does not go… This is a serious question. You see, you all have
10:54said, I mean, Malik Arjun Kharge of the Congress, for example, says, this is an illegitimate
10:59government, illegitimate chief ministers elected under a flawed electoral process. The corollary
11:06of that is, if you contest an election tomorrow under the same illegitimate process, who is
11:11benefiting? I ask you again, are you willing to consider boycotting elections if Gyanesh Kumar
11:17continues as chief election commissioner?
11:19Rajiv Ji, let me make it very clear. Gyanesh Kumar will have to go. Unfortunately, today…
11:24How?
11:24What's happened in our country, if you see the kind of detentions, if you see the kind
11:28of people who are being arrested, detained, beaten up by the Delhi police and many other
11:32cops across the country, we have an emergency by a government who does not have the guts to
11:37call this an emergency. At least Mrs. Gandhi had the guts to call it an emergency. This prime
11:42minister and this government or regime does not have the guts to call an emergency an emergency.
11:47They will only implement it without having the guts to do so.
11:51You know, Aditya Thakri, you are full of fire and brimstone at the moment. It almost seems
11:58all of you are competing for the CJP space.
12:02Not really. We are very happy sharing it.
12:04Kokrut Janata Party has shown the way and the Shiv Sena, including the Shiv Sena UBT is happy
12:10to join the Kokrut Janata Party. I never thought I would see a day when the Shiv Sena would endorse
12:15another party like the Kokrut Janata Party, which you all did a few weeks ago. Some of
12:20your Senics even participated in the protests in Mumbai. Is the CJP the future? Is Aditya
12:26Thakri saying, I want to see more Kokruj's out there?
12:30I mean, in an ecosystem you want every kind of flora and fauna. Right? You are a bit of
12:36an environmentalist yourself. A lot of it. So, but my point is this, that be it the CJP,
12:42be it the Congress, be it RJD, be it Shiv Sena, be it MNS, be it any other party across
12:47the
12:47country, be it the DMC. All of us are not fighting for ourselves. We are fighting for the country.
12:53In fact, we are inviting the BJP to come join us and clear up the electoral system. Tomorrow
12:58they will start losing if such a system is implemented against them. Their party will
13:04be broken the way they broke our party, the way they broke NCP, the way they broke TMC,
13:07the way they broke Tata's for the benefit to get TCS or whatever to control the electoral
13:12roles. The point being, you cannot…
13:14No, no, you are again making a serious allegation. Yes.
13:16You are telling me here in this audience that the BJP is breaking Tata's to promote TCS,
13:22which has been given the contract with the election commission. That's a very serious
13:27allegation to make. Who stands to gain? Sorry? Who stands to gain?
13:30You tell me. You tell me. No, no. You have come here and said the BJP is trying to break
13:36Tata's.
13:37These are all very serious unmoven allegations. I'll tell you why. Absolutely. The BJP has broken parties
13:42and the BJP is now going behind corporates to let one corporate gain. Now, I don't know if the
13:49sponsor is that corporate, but…
13:53This is the second time you are doing it. You did it last year as well. Last year as well.
13:56But go ahead.
13:56But my point is this, that if you see what the BJP is doing is ruining every establishment,
14:01every institution, every corporate, every political party, every free voice in this country,
14:06so that it can tighten its grip over this country. And today, when you have the Kaukrut Janta Party protesting,
14:13why not support it? Today, when you have anybody protesting against unfair means of the regime,
14:19I think it's our duty beyond political interests, beyond political ideologies, beyond political self-interest
14:25to go and support them.
14:26I'll tell you why people feel you are supporting the Kaukrut Janta Party.
14:30They think parties like the Shiv Sena, UBT. Please listen carefully. Our parties of DINIS,
14:35that y'all are, that Aditya Thakre is there because his father is Uddav Thakre who is there
14:41because Bala Sahib Thakre started the party. So much easier then to support a fresh Kaukrut Janta Party
14:47and use them to gain power. This is not some love for the Kaukrut Janta Party,
14:52but a recognition that the young voters, the Gen Z, would rather have a fresh Kaukrut Janta Party
14:58with figures who are not coming with any baggage than support old parties, be it the Congress,
15:04be it the TMC or be it the Shiv Sena.
15:06Rajiv Ji, about DINIS and the legacy, I think there's a difference. I mean, I would, of course,
15:11be very, very proud of my legacy. I've said this before and I say it today. I'm very proud of
15:14my legacy.
15:14At least I can show what my forefathers were doing and where they come from.
15:21But, about DINIS, look into the BJP's MP list. Look into the BJP's leadership.
15:27They have more DINIS than any other political party in this country today.
15:30Having said that, about the CJP, the first credibility of the CJP comes from the fact that they are A,
15:36non-political.
15:37Right? Two, I think a lot of young people and people of different ages, people of different political ideologies
15:43came to Shivaji Park the other day to protest only because you had the country at the forefront of everything.
15:49Three, I don't think we're fools to believe that, oh, by showing up at a political protest like that or
15:54somewhere else,
15:55which is, you know, saying, okay, everyone's coming here, I'm going to get the votes en masse in one go.
16:01I'm not going there for the votes. I know that there may be so many people there who do not
16:05agree with me.
16:06There may be many people there who do not vote for me and maybe not ever vote for me.
16:10But I am going there to fulfill my duty as a citizen of India that if someone is stepping out
16:15for this country,
16:16I have to make sure that I am there at the right time holding the Tiranga for my country and
16:21I will always do that.
16:22If the CJP becomes a political party tomorrow, will you support it?
16:25Let's not go into the...
16:26No, no, no. Let's be very clear.
16:29If the CJP becomes a political party tomorrow, will Aditya Thakrej Shiv Sena support it?
16:35Would you want to alliance with them?
16:36You want to go... I come back to it. You all want to latch on to the CJP because your
16:41own vote is dwindling.
16:43Therefore, you need the CJP.
16:44I don't think a vote is dwindling. A. And two, I think the vote itself is dwindling on a larger
16:49scale because you do not have a free vote.
16:52That is the larger problem.
16:54If Mr. Rajiv Sardisai wants to vote for the BJP, his vote may be going for the BJP.
16:59But if you probably want to vote for the Congress or the CJP or the Shiv Sena or the TMC,
17:03your vote is still going to the BJP. That is the problem.
17:05No, no. You see, Aditya, you know, you are keeping on going to vote chori. 2024 Lok Sabha.
17:11This is the entire fight.
17:12No, no, no. One minute, sir. 2024 Lok Sabha, you ended up with the maximum number of seats, 48 seats
17:17on offer. Your party and the other opposition parties got 30 of the 48. I didn't hear any of you
17:23say vote chori.
17:24Four months later, you lost Maharashtra. Suddenly you all...
17:27Rajdeep Ji, there was one seat, one seat, Mumbai Northwest. Mumbai Northwest, we have spoken about vote chori.
17:33Sir, that was a very close...
17:34That was a stolen seat.
17:35That was a close...
17:36That was a cheated on seat.
17:37Yeah, yeah. That was a close margin seat. I am asking you a simple question. Is the rule now that
17:42when you lose, Sab Kut Changha Si, when you, sorry, when you win, Sab Kut Changha Si, when you lose,
17:50vote chori.
17:50We haven't won in the last four years, so Sab Kut Changha Si nahi bol paai ham log.
17:54No, no. You won 2024 Lok Sabha. You won 2024 Lok Sabha. That time I didn't hear anybody say vote
18:00chori.
18:01If 70 seats or 70 odd seats not been rigged by the BJP, they would not be crossing 200.
18:07So are you saying that even 2024 Lok Sabha was rigged?
18:12You look at the way things are happening.
18:13I didn't hear any of you say that at the time. You are now saying it two years later.
18:16We have constantly said this. We have constantly spoken about EVMs. We have constantly spoken about vote chori.
18:21But when Haryana happened, when Bihar happened, when Maharashtra happened, that is when vote chori was more blatant than before.
18:30You know, Aditya Dhakre, the existential crisis of the Shiv Sena.
18:37The fact is why are these MPs and MLAs leaving you?
18:42At some level, isn't this a crisis of leadership? When MPs and MLAs leave a party, it's not simply for
18:49the loaves and fishes that the other side offers.
18:51It also shows perhaps that y'all have not been able to do enough to take on the other side,
18:57to give yourselves a sense that the Shiv Sena UBT has a future.
19:02Absolutely, there is a big crisis of leadership in the BJP because if you can't get your own elected MPs
19:10or your own MPs elected on your own face, then you start breaking parties. That is a crisis of leadership.
19:18Clear cut crisis of leadership. You can't win on yourself. You can't win on the other party. You can't break.
19:23So why are your MPs and MLAs so ready to leave and join the other side?
19:27Why are they, I mean someone like, we are here in this very constituency which you are I think the
19:33MLA of in Worley.
19:36Sachin Ahir, seen as one of your main chieftains, goes and shifts and joins the other side. What does it
19:42show?
19:43Isn't that a lack of confidence in Aditya Dhakre's leadership?
19:46Let me not show you his WhatsApp message from the morning that he left.
19:49This morning?
19:50No, no, that morning when he left. Personal reasons are galore. But the point is this.
19:55Why did he leave?
19:58Ask anyone in Worley. You will get to know. There is some, let it be.
20:03No, no.
20:03Interest and interest. So anyway, the point is this.
20:06We are in Worley.
20:08Your main man in Worley has left you.
20:10Let me bring you to the point here. You know what? Let's get the six MPs lined up here.
20:14Let's get them seated here.
20:16And let's start mind reading them. And let's start wondering, or if they are wondering if they left the party
20:21at the wrong time.
20:23There is a change coming. And this kind of politics, this kind of politics where you win from one party
20:31and hop over to another will not be tolerated by people.
20:33You know, I was in Chakan recently, where the people have been complaining about bad roads and terrible facilities to
20:40industries.
20:41And again, a lot of people have been telling me that, you know, too much of this politics where someone's
20:46father is in the BJP, the son is in the Sena, the brother is in the NCP.
20:49We are done with this kind of politics.
20:51Please give us people who have no baggage and do not have interest in hopping parties.
20:56I think you will see a lot of younger people, cleaner people, without political backgrounds come up in the next
21:02elections, which is way before 2029.
21:05You are saying there will be an election before 2029. The next general election will be before 2029.
21:11The way it is going, it will be like that. And you will give tickets to new, to new young
21:17people?
21:17We will give tickets to cleaner intent and for those people who have only and only this whole agenda of
21:25serving the country.
21:26That is the only thing. This whole political, either se udar, udar se udar, udar se udar, aise nahi chalega
21:30abhi.
21:30You don't accept, and the matter is before the Supreme Court, even as we speak, that the real Shiv Sena,
21:36that issue according to Eknat Shindeji has been settled.
21:41They have the maximum MLAs, they have the maximum MPs, they have the maximum counsellors. Issue is settled.
21:48The Thakres are the past, the Shindes are the future.
21:51Rajdeep ji, today if I steal your bat while playing cricket and score more than you, does the bat become
21:55mine?
21:57Chor to chor he rahata hai na?
21:59You won't score more runs than me. Even if you steal my bat.
22:02Let's have a bet on that.
22:04No, no, you have to do the batting yourself. You can steal my bat, but you'll have to score the
22:09runs.
22:09That's what I'm telling Eknat Shinde. Come try to score the runs with me.
22:14You're saying on a level playing field, you versus, you're saying it's a non-level playing field, and that's the
22:19only reason why...
22:20For a few days, till things change.
22:22You know, I've been hearing these words of change. The fact is, and y'all have worked with Prime Minister
22:27Modi.
22:27He just completed 25 years in power, and that's a remarkable feat.
22:3212 years as Gujarat Chief Minister, or 13 years, and then 11 years as Prime Minister.
22:37Will you give some acknowledgement, some credit to the fact that he's proven to be a...
22:44the most durable politician India has had?
22:47Look, there are many ways to be durable in our country, and the way agencies operate, the way politics happens
22:52today.
22:52Let me not go into that. Let me not take away from his 25 years.
22:56But the fact remains that the last 12 years, especially the last 10 years, the kind of iron grip that
23:02the BJP had on India, the kind of trust...
23:05At a certain point, you've seen people, after a move as crazy as demonetization, people stand in lines.
23:11You've seen GST completely failed, but people believed in it at one point.
23:15This has been the lost decade for India. And I say it with a heavy heart, but this has been
23:19the lost decade for India.
23:21Because the kind of real growth, the kind of real jobs we could have seen, the kind of real development
23:25we could have seen...
23:26You see, every developmental project...
23:28There's been a remarkable growth in public infrastructure. You cannot deny that.
23:33Okay, come on Rajdeep ji, right now, you, me and the Chief Minister, let's go for a drive to the
23:37missing link, Mumbai Pune Express.
23:41The missing link, as the Chief Minister claimed, 25 countries have tested this and that and that.
23:47A, forget the landslide, forget everything else.
23:49See the amount of patchwork that's happened in the last 4 months.
23:52See the kind of potholes you still have on the missing link.
23:56And there's quality of the surface there.
23:57And I can take you to every new infrastructure project inaugurated by this BJP government.
24:03Within 3 months, you have patchwork happening, repairwork happening or potholes coming up. Why?
24:08Potholes were there when y'all were also in charge of the BMC.
24:11But I had... I had... No, no, no, no.
24:13But Rajdeep ji, you and I, there's a famous video...
24:15Sir, potholes are politically neutral. Potholes exist whichever is the government.
24:19Mumbai cars have suffered over the years whether you've been in power or the other side.
24:22Potholes don't know if Shiv Sena is in power or BJP is in power.
24:26Potholes are potholes.
24:27Rajdeep ji, you and I have heard a video.
24:29Yes.
24:30On air.
24:31Where we have spoken about the road management potholes.
24:33And I've given you figures of where potholes have been filled.
24:36Where there are no potholes.
24:37Which are the new roads.
24:37And which roads were under repairs.
24:40Let's have this discussion with the Chief Minister.
24:42Let's see if he knows that much.
24:43Let's see if there's an intent to work on that many things.
24:46You see that...
24:46You know, you said something which has struck a chord for me as someone who loves my home state of
24:52Maharashtra.
24:52One of my home states.
24:53I mean we've got a terrible drought going on at the moment.
24:56Terrible drought in Maratwada and Vidarbha.
24:59I would like to see why can't the two sides, the opposition and the government go together and travel across
25:06these drought-hit areas.
25:07I find politics being played out even over drought.
25:11I'll tell you why.
25:11Is it not possible to work together at least on certain issues?
25:15I'll tell you why.
25:16The Chief Minister had his tour of the drought-hit areas.
25:19I had my visits of the drought-hit areas.
25:21We met the farmers.
25:22We've interacted with the farmers.
25:24There have been certain startling images coming out from the Chief Minister's tour.
25:28You had iron railings being put up.
25:31So that the farmers cannot approach the Chief Minister without being frisked two or three times.
25:35Without, you know, they had to come without any of their crops to show the Chief Minister.
25:39They had to just come with a letter.
25:40A couple of things.
25:41Even our two MLAs from that region were not allowed to meet the Chief Minister.
25:44Primarily because the farmers were with them.
25:47Why do you need frisking when you're meeting farmers?
25:49Why do you need iron railings when you're meeting farmers?
25:52Can't you just go without all these frills and paraphernalia and go and meet the farmers as-is?
25:57Are they terrorists?
25:58When we went and met them, so many of the farmers complained saying,
26:01Sir, there are cars from here.
26:02There are cars from here.
26:03We have to leave the car.
26:04There are cars from here.
26:05Two.
26:06Let me tell you also one more difference.
26:08Last year, you had floods.
26:10The Chief Minister announced a package of 32,000 crores.
26:12Go onto the ground and ask any farmer.
26:15Not a single rupee has gone to the farmer's account.
26:18Two.
26:18We did that story.
26:19It's not a single farmer, but yes, there were complaints.
26:22Let me complete.
26:23Then, you had the Prime Minister's crop loan insurance scheme.
26:26None of the insurance money actually goes out to the farmer when there's destruction.
26:30Three.
26:30The Chief Minister announced a huge loan waiver right now.
26:34Go to every village.
26:35Four or five names have come in that list, but the money hasn't gone on the bank accounts.
26:39It's been two months.
26:40Compared to this, everyone says,
26:44The loan waiver given by Uddha Thakre in 2020 reached us.
26:47That is the difference between two people.
26:49And I think that is very important.
26:50I am happy today to work with the Chief Minister.
26:53Go around with him openly with all the cameras.
26:56Meet the farmers.
26:57Try to give whatever help possible.
26:58This is beyond politics.
27:00Even today, Rajdeepji, I'll just give you one more example.
27:02Today, as we sit in Mumbai, there is a heat wave alert.
27:069th of October.
27:07Right?
27:08Super El Nino.
27:09Look at the temperatures.
27:10And still the Chief Minister is busy pulling data centers into the middle of a city like Thane.
27:16Cutting trees.
27:17Thousands and thousands of trees.
27:19Well, his supporters say that it's because of the Chief Minister that the Mumbai Metro has finally been able to
27:25be fast-tracked.
27:26Unlike when Aditya Thakre and Shiv Sena was in power.
27:29That y'all were worried about the environmental cost.
27:33But at the end of the day, as a result of the entire RA colony controversy, the Metro project got
27:39delayed.
27:39One more thing in that.
27:40The Kanzurumag land that we had given to the Metro.
27:43Metro 6, Metro 3, Metro 4 and Metro 14 would have saved 10,000 crores.
27:46The Government of India, Salt Commissioner and someone else litigated that land.
27:51Day before yesterday, there is news in the newspaper that that land is out of litigation again.
27:56And is now going to be used for a metro car depot.
27:58Forget the environment bit.
27:59We would have saved 10,000 crores of the Exchequer by pulling in four car depots into one nodal place.
28:06Connecting the entire MMR from that one nodal place.
28:08But Mr. Fadnavis' friends and politicians wanted to buy land from whom the Government would buy land for car depots
28:14and spent 10,000 crores on that.
28:16That scam they wanted to enable and which is why they were trying to push us into the corner.
28:20You know, I want to ask you, I've asked you a different question but we've got just two minutes.
28:26Is the Shiv Sena UBT very comfortable with the leadership of Rahul Gandhi of the India Bloc?
28:31Are you seeing 2029 or whenever the next election takes place India Bloc under Rahul Gandhi's leadership?
28:37Is he your candidate for Prime Minister?
28:39Why not?
28:40Straight answer.
28:40Absolutely, why not?
28:42Why not?
28:42Yeah, why not?
28:43I mean, look at the way he's protesting right now.
28:44Look at the way he's leading.
28:46So many issues that he's spoken about, say six months earlier, a year ago, probably three years ago, are turning
28:50out to be true now.
28:51A man who has his heart in the right place, a man who is well educated, a man who has
28:56good intent for the country and is clean, does not cheat the people, does not fool the people, needs to
29:02be the Prime Minister of India.
29:03The BJP says that he's an anarchist, he's spreading anarchy and the Congress keeps losing elections.
29:09It's all very well to do street protests but even today in the by-elections, the Congress is losing.
29:14So it's one thing to have street protests but the party keeps losing elections.
29:17Do you still believe Rahul Gandhi is the man to lead India?
29:20You want to see anarchy?
29:21Look at the stock markets.
29:23You want to see anarchy?
29:24See the way the markets are trusting the Finance Minister.
29:25That is anarchy.
29:26That's because what's happening in West Asia.
29:28Look at governance.
29:29Look at governance.
29:29That is anarchy by the BJP sitting in the seat.
29:32Stock markets are being influenced by what's happening to oil prices and what's happening in West Asia.
29:36How can you blame the Indian government for that?
29:38So all of the countries who are indulged in the war, their stock markets are doing well and the country
29:41that has nothing to do with the war, our stock markets are tanking.
29:47This is talking about 7.8 GDP.
29:50Are you a millennial leader or a Gen Z leader?
29:52I think I'm 90 born so I'm what millennial.
29:56Do you go on Instagram often?
29:58Pretty much.
29:59Are you also trying to attract Gen Z through Instagram or what's your recipe to attract Gen Z?
30:04You're all in a competition.
30:05Who gives the best Instagram reel?
30:07I definitely don't do live videos at 11.30 in the night.
30:11No, no, but you do.
30:12You were doing videos.
30:14I saw some videos of you doing push-ups and all.
30:18That was long back.
30:19That was long back.
30:20Okay.
30:20But it's gone from you too.
30:22It's gone from us too.
30:23Okay.
30:24I want to give you one credit though.
30:25And I say this as a Mumbai car.
30:27And I love football that's why.
30:28The Neville D'Souza ground, the football ground was being taken over in Mumbai.
30:33Number of people of Bandra, citizens of Bandra got together.
30:36You supported them, your head of the football association.
30:39And I want to thank you for actually ensuring that that ground is still a football ground.
30:45Thank you, Rajivji.
30:46That's a fight going on.
30:46While I may question you on politics, I believe that there are good things that are done.
30:51And those good things deserve to be applauded.
30:54Mumbai needs many more green spaces.
30:56And I hope they will continue.
30:58But this is how it's supposed to be.
30:59When I'm on your hot seat, you're supposed to question me.
31:01Ask for accountability.
31:02And I think that is absolutely fair for every other leader across the board.
31:06And this open space and there are three more that we are fighting.
31:09The chief minister is trying to give them to a friend.
31:11We're fighting against that.
31:12All I will say is, I hope next year at the Mumbai conclave, we can have you or your father
31:17versus Devendra Fatnavis.
31:19To my mind, that would be the ideal kind of debate that we can have.
31:22I hope Maharashtra is very fun.
31:24I'm happy to sit and debate with him.
31:26He will say, I want Mr. Udav Thakre to come.
31:29I'll check with my father, but I mean, either of us.
31:32I'm also happy to sit with him and talk facts.
31:36Okay.
31:36Aditya Thakre for joining us here on the Mumbai conclave, feisty as ever.
31:41Thank you very much.
31:43Ladies and gentlemen, the Shiv Sena leader, Aditya Thakre.