Thane: The Shiv Sena (UBT) countered Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ claim of being a ‘kartoos’ (cartridge) and declared that ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray is a ‘cannon’, here on Wednesday.
In a hard-hitting speech targeting the ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance, firebrand Sena (UBT)’s Deputy Leader Sushma Andhare slammed Fadnavis’ remark on Tuesday in response to Thackeray’s attack, terming him as a ‘fadtus’ (useless) home minister and seeking his resignation.
Replying to Fadnavis, Andhare said that if he was a ‘kartoos’ then “Uddhav Thackeray is a cannon” and no cartridge can counter it, amidst a huge applause.
Earlier on Wednesday, Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut dismissed Fadnavis’ remark, saying it was a ‘wet kartoos’, implying a dud, and challenged him to “keep aside the ED-CBI and then face us”.
Leading the Opposition, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) protest procession in the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s hometown this afternoon, Aditya Thackeray said that the ‘unconstitutional government’ in the state will collapse very soon, and “then we will prepare the accounts”.
The marchers included senior MVA leaders like Sena (UBT)’s Aditya Thackeray, Ambadas Danve, Anil Parab, Sushma Andhare, MPs Vinayak Raut and Rajan Vichare, Congress’ Vikrant Chavan and others, NCP’s Jitendra Awhad, Vidya Chavan, Anand Paranjpe, besides district leaders and workers of the three parties.
Thackeray Jr. slammed Fadnavis for not taking the complaint of the Sena (UBT) woman activist Roshani Pawar-Shinde who was assaulted allegedly by supporters of CM Shinde late on Monday.
“Instead of registering her complaint, a police team is waiting outside the hospital to arrest her (Pawar-Shinde) for her alleged social media posts critical of the governmenta What is going on in the state?” questioned Aditya Thackeray.
Thackeray also took a swipe at Shinde’s plans to go and pray at the Lord Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Sunday, saying “there’s Ravan raj here, he has no right to go there”.
He warned that the next phase of agitation would be a ‘jail-bharo’ as the attack on a woman has shaken the conscience of people all over Maharashtra.
Awhad said that since the past nine months of Shinde-Fadnavis regime, there has been a total breakdown of the law in Thane, people are being threatened, pressured or attacked for speaking out, and now the shocking assault on Pawar-Shinde.
He declared that the MVA will not be scared by such tactics and will continue to oppose the ‘illegitimate government’ at all levels.
Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah and complained against Fadnavis, and said that the latter has assured action in the matter.
Earlier on Wednesday, Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane also opened verbal fire at Thackeray for criticising Fadnavis.
“You (tu) are a ‘maha-fadtus’ (most useless), ‘cranky’, lair, inept, traitor, fraud, a blot, without knowledge of any topic, only surviving because of the ‘Thackeray’ surname. You did nothing as CM for two-and-half years. Who are you to criticise Fadnavis,” Rane said.
Raking up the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput and his associate Disha Salian, Rane again questioned the alleged role of the Thackerays in the two cases.
Rane warned that if Thackeray dared to attack Fadnavis, then he would face the consequences at any public rally he would address in the future.
The assault on Pawar-Shinde has triggered an ugly political war in Maharashtra since the past two days with both the government and the Opposition hurling abuses at each other.
On Wednesday afternoon, MVA took out a procession from Talao Pali Lake to the Commissioner of Police’s office in Shinde’s hometown, demanding the Thane Police register a case for the assault on Pawar-Shinde.
The marchers walked a distance of around 2 km raising slogans against the ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government and condemned the police inaction on a woman activist who was targeted for making certain critical social media posts.
The procession terminated into a rally near the CoP’s office where the leaders hammered the Thane Police and the state government on various counts, its failures and predicting that it would not survive for long.
The Thane Police had made a heavy police deployment to ward off any untoward incidents during the procession and the subsequent public meeting which saw a large number of women joining.
–IANS