At a Dussehra rally on Thursday, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde retaliated against Uddhav Thackeray for his remarks against Katappa, claiming that even Katappa had self-respect and did not have double standards.
“They call me ‘Katappa’. I want to tell you that even ‘Katappa’ had self-respect and did not have double standards like you,” Shinde said. Recently, Uddhav Thackeray said, “The only thing I feel angry about is that when I was admitted to the hospital, the people whom I gave the responsibility (of the state) became ‘Katappa’ and betrayed us… They were thinking that I would never return from the hospital.”
In an attack on Uddhav Thackeray, Shinde claimed that Narayan Rane would have taken over as CM if Balasaheb Thackeray had still been alive.
“He (Uddhav Thackeray) didn’t feel ashamed of taking the oath of CM. If Balasaheb Thackeray had been alive he would not have become CM, Balasaheb would have made Narayan Rane CM”, CM added.
At the Dussehra rally on Wednesday at Mumbai’s BKC field, Balasaheb Thackeray’s son, Jaidev Thackeray, attended to show his support and shared the stage with Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde.
Jaidev Thackeray expressed his support for CM Shinde and stated, “Don’t abandon Eknath Shinde by himself. He serves peasants and common people “.
Shiv Sena Dussehra event on MMRDA grounds was attended by Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and members of his faction.
In honour of Balasaheb Thackeray, Shinde spoke. A Mahant from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh was summoned to perform the “Shashtr pooja” (worship of arms) for the 51-foot-long sword.
Uddhav Thackeray was denounced by Shinde as a traitor for his former party’s affiliation with Congress. “Balasaheb Thackeray made an alliance with the BJP. You did gaddari, but we are not gaddar. You have committed a sin… go apologise to Balasaheb samadhi at Shivaji park”.
Shinde went on to praise his leadership, claiming that Uddhav Thackeray had brought about a revolution while betraying the Maharashtrian people and selling Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideas.
“You point at us for stealing your father, but you have sold your father and the packed ground here shows this,” he said.
Shiv Sena’s Shinde faction leader Ramdas Kadam called out Uddhav Thackeray, saying, “Even your brother, cousins, or Raj Thackeray are not with you. Uddhav ji, if you cannot even keep your family intact, how will you keep the state intact?”
In his attack, Shinde said, “This is not your (Uddhav Thackeray) pvt. ltd company. The Shiv Sena is made up of Shiv-Sainiks who have given their sweat for it. Not for people like you, who did partnerships and sold it.”
When Uddhav Thackeray was in office, he said that for two years, they obeyed all commands while he shattered Balasaheb’s worldview.
“As mentioned by Gulabrao Patil, all the MLAs used to meet me and tell me about their problems because you never met them… I used to give aid to them (MLAs) from my ministry. Why did MLAs and MPs left you? Raj Thackeray, Narayan Rane, and Smita Thackeray left you. Are we all wrong?” he asked.