Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A delegation of women office-bearers of Shiv Sena (UBT) has accused their party’s male leaders of being biased against them and not allowing them to meet the party chief Uddhav Thackeray in the hotel this morning.
The women front narrated their grievances before the media persons in the star hotel lobby, on Jalna Road, where Thackeray had halted in the night.
Despite associating with the party for the past 3-4 decades they are taken for granted and not allowed to meet the leader. The incident lasted for half an hour. Later on, party leader former MP Chandrakant Khaire reached the venue. In anger, he folded his hands before them and told them to go as the meeting with Thackeray is not possible. Hence the women members were disappointed as they had to step out of the hotel without meeting Thackeray.
The eyes of some of them welled up with tears while leaving the venue.
The office-bearers of the women's wing said that they were neither invited to welcome Thackeray at the airport on Tuesday evening nor informed about his stay in the city till Wednesday. He is accessible to a group of selected male leaders in the party. We had also made efforts to strengthen the party hands. There are many cases registered against us during our political journey. Despite this only selected office-bearers can reach till Thackeray. This is not new, but happening for the past many years, said former mayor Kala Ozha, former corporator Sunita Aulwar, Sunita Dev, district organiser Pratibha Jagtap, Meera Deshpande, and others.
When the drama was underway, the party’s secretary Ashok Patwardhan and district chief Kishan Tanwani tried to convince them, but they did not arrange their meeting with Thackeray.
Former MP Khaire got angry with the office-bearers of women's wing and expressed his displeasure for washing linen in public (before media persons). He folded his hands with displeasure and told them to leave as there is no possibility of meeting with Thackeray. The ladies then left the hotel with the bouquet they had brought to present to Thackeray.
The leader of opposition MLC Ambadas Danve, on reaching the hotel, came to know about the disappointment of the women's delegation. “We will have to understand their side as well. However, the party chief is visiting 6-7 places in a day. Hence it becomes impossible for him to meet everyone.”