Shiv Sena lashes out at Sanjay Raut's call for 'World Traitors Day' on June 20

The Shiv Sena, a ruling ally, responded strongly to the Shiv Sena (UBT), its rival, who proposed declaring June 20 as 'World Traitors Day' to commemorate their split in 2022. Upset by this suggestion, prominent Shiv Sena leaders like Uday Samant, Sanjay Shirsat, and Ramdas Kadam criticized Raut and the Sena (UBT), accusing them of being the true traitors to the principles of Hindutva and the late Balasaheb Thackeray's ideals.

During their speeches on Sunday, Uddhav Thackeray, the President of Sena (UBT), and his son Aditya Thackeray discussed the proposal, which was further explained by Sanjay Raut, the party's MP and Chief Spokesperson, today. Shirsat, a member of the party, rejected the idea and stated that they would instead celebrate June 20 as a day of pride and self-respect. He criticized Raut for labeling the breakaway faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as "traitors" or "gaddars".

Samant said that the party would soon expose "who is the real 'gaddar' in the state" who had dumped all ideals in their sheer hunger for power, and how the people of the state were stabbed in the back. Kadam said Thackeray had broken off from the BJP solely to become the CM and he had committed 'gaddari' (treason) with the masses and had betrayed the Hindutva plus the teachings propounded by the late Balasaheb Thackeray.

Chief Minister Shinde responded in a sarcastic manner, stating, "I heard they (Thackerays) are going to make a demand for some such day..." as his supporters guffawed. The trio also proposed their own versions of June 20 - like 'pride day', 'self-respect day', etc., - to counter the Sena (UBT)'s plans to petition the United Nations (UN) for declaring the day (June 20) as 'World Traitors Day'.