Day after Saamna editorial said Devendra Fadnavis had grown arrogant and intolerant since becoming the Maharashtra deputy chief minister, the ruling BJP warned the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece of legal action and burnt its copies at several places in Mumbai on Saturday.“The attack against Fadnavis is an outcome of the growing frustration of Uddhav Thackeray. They know they have not only lost power but will never return to power again,” state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said. “The BJP believes in freedom. But there is a limit. If the Shiv Sena (UBT), using Saamna, crosses its limits, it will not go uncontested. The BJP will consider taking legal action and street protests.”
“Thackeray has realised that he lost power and the party. Everything has slipped from his hand. And what is worse, he knows he will never come back to power. This realisation is causing frustration daily. And Thackeray has let that frustration come out through writings in Saamna, the BJP leader said.Bawankule said the people of the state had seen Fadnavis’s hard work when he was chief minister from 2014 to 2019. “They know how hard and sincerely he works as deputy CM in charge of the home department,” he added. The Saamna editorial also said that when he was chief minister, Fadnavis was tolerant and cool-headed.BJP MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar led a protest against the Sena (UBT) and Saamna at Kandivali