The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray have joined forces to launch a fierce attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), issuing a joint call to the people of Maharashtra for a grand public protest rally in Mumbai on Sunday.
Framing the rally as a mass public movement, the organisers confirmed plans to engage in dialogue with all political parties across the spectrum to forge a unified opposition front. Launching a blistering attack, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS earlier on Saturday accused the Election Commission of deceiving voters and functioning as an extended wing of the ruling party at the Centre. “This is a rally of the people. To ensure it does not remain confined to a single party but becomes the collective voice of the entire political system and the citizenry, we will reach out to all political parties to join this front,” the statement read. Calling upon citizens to flood the streets of Mumbai, the movement aims to register a strong protest against what the leaders term institutional bias and voter list manipulation under the SIR process. The march is scheduled to begin at Metro Cinema.
He accused the ruling party of leveraging key institutional figures to maintain an “endless grip on power” and called upon all opposition parties across the country to unite for a massive agitation to bring back paper ballots.
Earlier, launching a scathing attack on the BJP and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, Raj Thackeray demanded the immediate cancellation of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
