Ahead of Maharashtra polls, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray's bags in his helicopter were checked for the second day in a row on Tuesday. This time, the checking took place in Latur.
This is the second consecutive day when this has happened. Earlier on Monday his luggage was checked in Yavatmal.
Thackeray on Monday claimed his bag was inspected by election authorities when he arrived in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal to campaign for the November 20 assembly elections.
The former chief minister asked if the election authorities would also inspect the bags of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders. Thackeray shared this experience while addressing a public meeting at Wani in Yavatmal for Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Sanjay Derkar.
The Sena (UBT) chief said when he arrived in Wani by helicopter, several election officials inspected his bag.
He asked his party workers and voters to also check the pockets and identity cards of the officials who check them.
Thackeray said he was not miffed with the election authorities but added, ”You are following your responsibility, and I will perform my responsibility.” ”The way you inspected my bag, did you inspect the bags of Modi and Shah?” he asked. "Shouldn’t the bags of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CMs Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis be checked? he sought to know. All these useless things are going on. I don’t consider it democratic. This can’t be a democracy. In a democracy, no one is big or small."
He said if the election authorities do not inspect their bags (of senior leaders of the ruling alliance), then workers of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the opposition MVA will check them.
The police and the Election Commission should not intervene as voters also have the right to check their bags (senior leaders of the ruling parties) when they come for campaigning, he added.
Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena (UBT) posted a video of Thackeray’s bag being inspected on its X handle.
In the video, Thackeray can be seen asking officials if they had inspected any other political leader’s bag.
He goes on to ask them if they checked the bags of CM Shinde, Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar, PM Modi and Shah.
When one of the officials tells the Sena (UBT) chief that these leaders are yet to visit the region, he tells them to inspect PM Modi and Shah’s bag and send him a video recording.
What does the Election Commission say?
Meanwhile, sources in the Election Commission on Tuesday told PTI that aircraft and helicopters of top leaders across political spectrum are checked as part of standard operating procedure (SOP).
They said in the previous polls too, planes and helicopters of BJP president J P Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah were checked.
"There have been strict SOPs followed by enforcement agencies for a level playing field. During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a similar issue was raised in Bihar and it was clarified that the helicopters of prominent leaders, including Nadda was checked in district Bhagalpur on April 24 and Shah in district Katihar on April 21 were also checked as per SOP," a functionary pointed out.
(With inputs from PTI)
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