May 10, 2024 10:52 AM IST
Eknath Shinde accused Uddhav Thackeray of being greedy, who ditched the old ally and went to form a government with Congress and NCP.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday reacted to Uddhav Thackeray’s ‘traitor’ barb, saying it’s them (Uddhav Thackrey) who have betrayed and abandoned the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray.
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“The words used for me are applied to them. In 2019, they abandoned the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray…They sold the ideology of their father. They committed a sin and the public will never forgive them…In 2019, they betrayed their friend and the people of Maharashtra. They betrayed the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray,” news agency ANI quoted Shinde as saying.
The Maharashtra CM further accused Thackeray of being greedy. He claimed out of greed, he ditched the old ally with the same ideology and went to form a government with Congress and NCP.
“When we contested elections together, Shiv Sena and the BJP had the same ideology. People believed that there would be an alliance government, and that is why they voted. But out of greed for the CM post, they went ahead with Congress and Sharad Pawar. This is betrayal…I don’t use the kind of words they use. Balasaheb Thackeray and Anand Dighe didn’t teach me that…” he added.
Read here: Kalyan: Eknath Shinde stakes out home turf through son Shrikant
Shinde’s reaction came hours after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi took a Bollywood jibe at Shinde, saying that `my father is a traitor’ should be written on the forehead of chief minister’s son Shrikant Shinde.
While addressing a rally in Ghatkopar, Chaturvedi said, “There was a Hindi film where `mera baap chor hai’ (my father is a thief) was written on the son’s hand. Similarly, `mera baap gaddar hai’ (my father is a traitor) should be written on Shrikant Shinde’s forehead.”
Shrikant is the sitting MP and Shiv Sena candidate from Kalyan Lok Sabha constituency.
Calling it a highly inappropriate statement coming from a woman MP, Sanjay Nirupam claimed it was Uddhav Thackeray who became a ‘Maha Gaddar’ after he betrayed the BJP to join the MVA partners Congress and undivided Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) (in October 2019).
“If she truly believes her statement, then Aditya Thackeray’s forehead should say ‘Mera Baap Maha-Gaddar Hai’. His father had committed a treachery of Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideals by joining hands with the Congress, which the former opposed all his life,” Nirupam said.
Read here: Eknath Shinde: Thackerays sat at home, cheated people out of natural alliance
Eknath Shinde split the Shiv Sena in June 2022, toppling the MVA-led Maharashtra government under chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.
(With inputs from agencies)
