In a bold assertion against his former party chief, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Uddhav Thackeray, accusing him of engaging in “dogli rajneeti” (double-faced politics) and plotting a plan to attack his residence under the guise of reconciliation negotiations following their split nearly two years ago. The Maharashtra CM levelled all these allegations against Uddhav in an interview with the news agency PTI.
Shinde, who now leads the “real” Shiv Sena, criticised Uddhav for deviating from the principles of the Party founder, Balasaheb Thackeray. He alleged that while Balasaheb prioritised the welfare of party workers, his son solely pursued self-interest.
“Uddhav abandoned Balasaheb’s ideology for the greed of the Chief Minister’s chair when he broke ties with the BJP to join hands with the Congress,” Maharashtra CM said while speaking to the news agency at his residence.
The 60-year-old Shiv Sena leader, who became the Chief Minister soon after he parted ways with Uddhav Thackeray and defected to the BJP, told PTI that the results of the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections clearly stated the mandate for the BJP-Shiv Sena government.
“But he (Uddhav) abandoned the ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray for the greed of the chief minister's chair,” Shinde said, adding, “We are now taking forward Balasaheb's ideology and that forms the foundation of this government. The work we are doing, so many major schemes we have launched, development is the main agenda for all of that and that is the real agenda of the Shiv Sena and that is what Balasaheb had dreamed of”.
Balasaheb Was A Man Of His Words: Shinde
Highlighting, what he termed as the “ideological shift” within Shiv Sena, Sinde said, “Balasaheb was something else. He will say whatever he has to say and he will never go back on his words. Whatever he would say once, will become cast in iron. There can't be another Balasaheb Thackeray”.
He further talked about the major differences between the working styles of Balasaheb and Thackeray. Shinde contended that it betrayed the party's Hindutva principles and disrespected Balasaheb's legacy, especially with the party's reluctance to acknowledge Balasaheb as the "Hindu Hriday Samrat".
Shinde, as reported by PTI, further asserted that Uddhav’s party could no longer be deemed a “Hindutva” party as it now is an ally of the Congress party, which he claimed insulted VD Savarkar, a revered figure in the Hindu nationalist circles.
Uddhav Plotted Attack On Me: Maharashtra CM Claims
Responding to a question regarding the tumultuous period following his departure from Shiv Sena, Shinde recounted, “He (Uddhav) sent an emissary to me and while that person was talking to me, he announced he was throwing me out of the party…”
“‘Dogli rajneeti, chehre pe alag, pet mein alag, honthon par alag’ (This double faced politics, something on the face, and something totally opposite behind it),” he added.
Refuting claims of reconciliation attempts, Shinde said, “We are the real Shiv Sena and taking forward Balasaheb's vision of Hindutva and the state's development”.
Nothing But 'Jumla': Shinde On Uddhav's Claim
Responding to Udhhav Thackeray's claim that former Chief Minister (now Shinde's Deputy) Devendra Fadnavis promised to groom Aditya Thackeray as a CM, Shinde said this is nothing but a new "jumla".
"First he claimed Amit Shah told him he will get 2.5 years as chief minister. The talk happened behind closed doors. If he had to take that 2.5 years, then when Fadnavis was telephoning him for a meeting, he didn't take a single call after 50 odd calls. That shows he did not want to sit out. Had he sat with the BJP, he would have got 2.5 years later if there was a commitment but he wanted it first. Since he was not interested, that's why he joined hands with the Congress and the NCP," he was quoted as saying by PTI.