Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has once again hit out at current CM Eknath Shinde and the rebel Shiv Sena faction in the midst of the power tussle between the two. Now, Thackeray has slammed Shinde for using his father’s photos to “beg for votes”.
In a sensational interview with Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana, Uddhav Thackeray alleged that Eknath Shinde staged a rebellion to bring him down even when he was unwell as he recovered from his surgery, and could barely move.
Terming the rebel Shiv Sena leaders as “traitors” in the Saamana interview, Thackeray compared them to “rotten leaves” that fall off the trees to make way for new leaves. This comes just as Shinde and Thackeray battle over the symbol of the ruling party in Maharashtra.
In the interview, the former Maharashtra CM said, “My government is gone, the Chief Minister's post is gone, I have no regrets. But my own people turned out to be traitors. They were trying to pull down my government when I was recovering from my surgery.”
The power tussle between Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde began when the latter staged a rebellion that led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra and formed a new government in alliance with the BJP.
During the interview, Thackeray further said that Shinde has been “begging for votes” using the images of his father and founder of Shiv Sena, Balasaheb Thackeray. He said, “They have betrayed me, split the party. They should seek votes using their own fathers' images. Stop begging for votes, using the images of the father of Shiv Sena.”
He alleged that the Eknath Shinde faction was praying that he “remain unwell” as he recovered from his neck surgery, which left him temporarily unable to use his limbs. Targeting Shinde, the former party chief said, “I had trusted you to take care of the party, you broke that trust.”
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