Maharashtra's Chief Minister Eknath Shinde asserted on Saturday that his decision to part ways with the Maha Vikas Aghadi was motivated by his desire to protect the Shiv Sena. Directing criticism towards Uddhav Thackeray, Shinde remarked that while Matoshree once echoed with the roar of a tiger (Balasaheb), it now resonates with cries and complaints. He described the transformation of the revered site into a "sad mansion" as disheartening.
Addressing a national convention of Shiv Sena at Kolhapur, Mr. Shinde said that Uddhav has no right to call him a traitor. He alleged that Uddhav betrayed the BJP not once, but twice. “I never lie. Uddhav had gone to Delhi and promised Narendra Modi to revive Shiv Sena-BJP alliance. But he did not keep his word. He betrayed BJP and Mr.Modi. How can he accuse us of betraying him? On the contrary, we saved Shiv Sena and its election symbol of bow and arrow,” he said.
Referring to a secret meeting between Uddhav and the PM in June 2021 in Delhi, Mr.Shinde said that was the second time the Shiv Sena leader lied to the BJP. “In 2019, we contested the assembly elections using photographs of Balasaheb Thackeray as well as Narendra Modi. But after the results, Uddhav Thackeray tied the knot with someone else. That was the first betrayal. But he betrayed the BJP twice. Today I am revealing the second instance. It was after the cases against his family members and relatives started to surface. He had gone to Delhi with Ajit Pawar and Ashok Chavan. But after the official meeting, he asked Mr. Pawar and Mr. Chavan to wait outside and he met the PM alone. In that meeting, he promised that Shiv Sena will again form an alliance with the BJP. But he did not form the alliance,” the Maharashtra CM said.
Mr. Shinde further alleged that as the MaharashtraCM, Uddhav Thackeray refused to provide him security despite death threats by naxals, which raised a question whether Uddhav wanted to eliminate him through insurgents.
Calling Uddhav an insecure leader, Mr. Shinde alleged that he never allowed any other leader to grow and hatched conspiracies against people who were becoming popular in the organisation. He gave examples of Raj Thackeray and Narayan Rane claiming that the two were pushed out of the party