Eknath Shinde, the current Chief Minister of Maharashtra, launched a scathing attack on his predecessor, Uddhav Thackeray, who had previously led the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. Shinde accused Thackeray of compromising the Shiv Sena's core Hindutva ideology by forming an alliance with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to fulfill his personal ambitions of becoming the Chief Minister.
Shinde went on to make controversial remarks, suggesting that Thackeray could potentially align with various political groups, including Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM, or even extremist organizations like "Lashkar-e-Taiba or Hamas" if it served his political goals.
In response to Shinde's remarks, Vijay Wadettiwar, the Leader of Opposition, issued a stern challenge to the Chief Minister. Wadettiwar called for elections in the state to determine who truly represents the Shiv Sena's ideology and enjoys the support of the public. He defended Uddhav Thackeray's leadership, stating that Shinde's comments were a result of the support Thackeray was receiving.
"He (Eknath Shinde) is saying all this because of the support that Uddhav Thackeray is getting. They should declare elections, and then they will know who is original and who is a duplicate, who has the support of the public, and who has Shiv Sena's ideology," Maharashtra LoP told ANI.
What Eknath Shinde says?
"The people are aware of what is happening today. The lifelong ideals of our founder-leader, Balasaheb Thackeray, were compromised to satisfy someone's lust for power and ambition of becoming the chief minister. They joined hands with the Congress, the same Congress which Balasaheb always kept us away from. Today, these people are sharing the stage with them," Shinde said, railing against Uddhav.
"I won't be surprised if they (Sena UBT) merge with the Congress. Instead of being proud Hindus, they consigned the core beliefs that the (undivided) Shiv Sena was founded on to the waters to stand with the socialists, their ideological opposites. They could even join hands with Owaisi or with terrorist organisations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hamas if it suits their political ambitions. Our Shiv Sena can and will never compromise with our founding ideals for the sake of power," Shinde added.