Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde targeted Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray over Rahul Gandhi's remarks on late Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar. Shinde also said the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party will hold a Savarkar Gaurav Yatra across the state.
Shinde, who was addressing reporters alongside Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, asked Thackeray to show courage to oppose these remarks.
hinde said the Thackeray-led outfit had crossed all limits when they joined the Congress in opposing Rahul Gandhi's disqualification as Lok Sabha MP last week.
Gandhi was disqualified on March 24 after a court in Surat in Gujarat sentenced him to two years in jail in a defamation case.
What are you (Thackeray) going to do when you say you are not going to tolerate Savarkar's insult. You need to show that courage, Shinde said.
Shinde said Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray had launched a joda mara abhiyaan (hitting with slippers) in 2004 against the then Union minister and Congressman Mani Shankar Aiyar for his remarks against Savarkar.
Those talking about Hindutva, their MLAs saying we will not tolerate Savarkar's insult were quiet for (the sake of) politics and Maha Vikas Aghadi. This is their double standards, Shinde alleged.
By making defamatory statements against Savarkar, the sympathy gained by Rahul Gandhi will start ebbing. This will, for sure, put the Maharashtra Congress in a uncomfortable position, an editorial in Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece Saamana' had said.