Thackeray's Mumbra visit an attempt to create tension amid Diwali: Eknath Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde dismissed Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray’s outburst over the demolition of his party’s ‘shakha’ in the Thane district and said that 'nothing works in front of people’s power.' "Thackeray had to turn back when he attempted to visit the spot of the ‘shakha’ in Mumbra on Saturday," Shinde said speaking to reporters after attending a Diwali programme. Thackeray, along with top leaders of the Sena (UBT), went to Mumbra to visit the razed shakha but had to face resistance from workers of the chief minister’s Shiv Sena, who raised slogans and showed him black flags.As the situation turned tense, Thackeray and his party colleagues left the site, just metres away from the razed shakha. Thackeray’s visit was nothing but an attempt to create a hurdle during the Diwali festivities, the chief minister said.

Thackeray along with his party colleagues Sanjay Raut, Anil Desai, Anil Parab and Arvind Sawant reached Mumbra in the evening. He was greeted by local MLA and NCP leader Jitendra Awhad at Kalwa and later their convoy reached the Retibandar area of Mumbra. There was a stage set up a few hundred metres from Shakha and police tried to stop Thackeray near and requested him not to go forward. But Thackeray did not accept it and moved ahead. As the police stopped Thackeray’s convoy again, there was a heated argument between senior police officials and leaders from the Thackeray faction. “We are here to just visit our shakha but you are stopping us. But why did the police not take any action when the Shinde faction illegally demolished our shakha and occupied it? You are providing protection to Shinde camp party workers and using force to stop us,” alleged Anil Parab. The chief minister refused to respond to Thackeray's allegations about the encroachment of shakha' land, saying he wouldn't ruin the festive atmosphere and would reply to the charges through his work. For the unversed, Eknath Shinde’s camp demolished a shakha in Mumbra on November 2. On November 2, while Mumbra city chief of the Thackeray faction, Vijay Kadam, was at the shakha along with other party workers, Rajan Kine, a leader from the Shinde camp forcefully took possession of the space. The shakha was demolished in the night, and two days ago the Shinde faction held a foundation ceremony for a new shakha. Mumbra is part of Thane Municipal Corporation – the CM’s home turf. Since the split in the party, there has been a dispute over the ownership of the shakha.