Maharashtra Chief Minister and rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde launched a broadside against Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday, remarking that he had taken a contract of taking forward (late Sena founder) Bal Thackeray’s ideals and ensuring the State’s development.
Mr. Shinde, who was addressing the Legislative Assembly on the closing day of the Monsoon Session of the State Legislature, further riposted the Thackeray camp’s jibes by remarking that his breakaway faction of 50 MLAs was sitting in the House after following due Constitutional procedure and having proved a majority in the floor test.
“I have been called a ‘contractor CM.’ Yes, I am a contactor CM and I have taken a contract for ensuring Maharashtra’s development, a contract to make this State more prosperous and to give justice to the poor and the backward sections, and I have taken contract of taking Balasaheb’s [Uddhav’s father Bal Thackeray] ideals forward,” said Mr. Shinde.
Alluding to the Uddhav camp’s frequent taunts that Mr. Shinde was nothing but “a puppet of the BJP” who repeatedly conferred with the BJP brass in Delhi, Mr. Shinde said the object of his visits was to ensure the State’s development.
“Prime Minister Modi has assured that there will be no shortage of funds for Maharashtra,” said Mr. Shinde.
On Wednesday, Mr. Thackeray, the former CM, had dubbed Mr. Shinde a “CM by contract” while hitting out at the BJP for ‘stealing’ from other parties. Mr. Shinde’s intra-party revolt in June had toppled Mr. Thackeray’s Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, propelling the Shinde-led Sena faction and the BJP to power in the State.
In tandem with Mr. Shinde’s verbal assault, the rebel Sena MLAs stepped up their attack on MLA Aaditya Thackeray, who has been touring the State in order to rebuild the sagging fortunes of the Uddhav Thackeray camp and reinforce the Thackeray family’s grip over the party rank-and-file.
Earlier, before the start of the session, the rebel Sena MLAs, who had said they would never target the Thackeray family following their revolt, were seen holding placards aggressively mocking the younger Thackeray.
Mr. Aaditya, who has been lashing out at the rebel MLAs by calling them “traitors” who had sold out (to the BJP) for ₹50 crore each, was at the receiving end with the rebels holding placards showing Mr. Aaditya wrongly seated on a horse.
The slogan read that the “the prince (Mr. Aaditya) has missed his path”.
Since the beginning of the Assembly session, the Thackeray faction has raised slogans about rebels receiving “₹50-crore bribe” from the BJP to defect, and that they did so because of the fear of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The Shinde camp’s chief whip Bharat Gogawale said: “We have tolerated this [Uddhav camp’s taunts] since the beginning of the Assembly session. Now, we too shall protest.”
