Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has hit out at Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray's son Aaditya and said that he should "know his age" and "speak accordingly". Aaditya, a former minister, has attacked Shinde on several occasions for his rebellion with 39 MLAs of Shiv Sena that led to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government in June. Uddhav and Aaditya have also been calling the Shiv Sena rebels "traitors and backstabbers".
Gulabrao Patil also questioned Aaditya's stature."I became active in Shiv Sena when Aaditya was in a swaddle. He is just 32 now. What right does he have to criticise us? Who is he?" Patil asked."He can be the heir to the property of late Balasaheb or of Uddhav Thackeray but he cannot claim the (party's) legacy. We carried the saffron flag on our shoulders for 35 years, but now they are criticising us," he said without taking Aaditya's name.
For the unversed, the rebellion by Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde and 50 MLAs in his support, spelt doom for the alliance government led by Uddhav Thackeray. The rebel faction demanded that Shiv Sena call off the "unnatural" alliance with the ideologically incompatible Congress, NCP, and get back with the BJP. After the eight-day political turmoil, Uddhav Thackeray stepped down from the top post, as Supreme Court refused to stay the test. The BJP then formed the govt in the state with the support of Sena rebels led by Eknath Shinde and several independents.