'Hindutva our identity,' says Uddhav faction, puts saffron flags outside Mumbai airport

Mumbai: Ahead of the third opposition meeting of INDIA bloc, the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday put up saffron flags and pictures of Uddhav outside the Mumbai airport.

Speaking to ANI, Santosh Kadam, secretary Bharatiya kamgar sena (UBT), a frontal organisation of the Sena, said, "We have put up the saffron flags at the Mumbai airport. This is our identity".

"Hindutva is our identity and all the people living in India are Hindus. The rest of the coalition partners will also agree to this," he said.

Posters welcoming several opposition leaders, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Secretary-General of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Sitaram Yechury, and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah leaders, who will be taking part in the third Opposition conclave in Mumbai, sprang up along the way leading up to the venue of the meeting.

"JUDEGA BHARAT, JETEGA BHARAT," read the posters in bold letters. The two-day meeting of 26 INDIA partners will kick off later on Thursday in the country's commercial capital.

While Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar convened the inaugural meeting of the Opposition bloc, the third meeting is being organised by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the Opposition alliance in Maharashtra comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by Sharad Pawar.

While the discussion among the partner leaders in the bloc would centre on the battle plan for the next general elections and a seat-sharing formula, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is also likely to unveil its logo during the two-day meeting starting Thursday.

Significantly, this would mark the first meeting of the Opposition alliance in a state where none of the INDIA partners are in power. Maharashtra is under the rule of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP and the rival NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar. Ahead of the mega huddle, Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister, Ashok Chavan, on Wednesday said the Opposition parties came together to save democracy in the country.

(ANI)