Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday hit back at his predecessor and ex-party colleague Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aditya Thackeray for alleged "neech" remarks, saying "they can't digest if a common labourer becomes the CM".
"Yesterday he (Aditya Thackeray) said that Eknath Shinde is "neech". You abuse me by calling me "neech". If a farmer's son, a common labourer becomes the chief minister then you don't like it, you are unable to digest it," the CM said at a poll rally in Buldhana.
If you look at it, this is not an insult to me, it is an insult to all the farmers' sons, it is an insult to the mothers and sisters of the poor and it is an insult to the society from which I come, he added.
I have faith that the people will respond to it through the ballot box on April 26, he asserted while appealing to people to vote for his candidate in the Lok Sabha elections 2024.
Later, the CM took to X to attack the father-son duo, saying 'baap ek numbari ani beta 10 numbari ahet' (in Marathi) which means the son is a bigger thief than his father.
"In Ubatha, 'the son is a bigger thief than his father'. Aditya Thackeray referred to me as 'neech' (despicable). He could not bear that the son of a common farmer became the chief minister. They have insulted not me, but the poor, the farmers, mothers and sisters and my community," the post read.
Uddhav bloc a 'nakli' Shiv Sena interested in Bal Thackeray's property: Shinde
Earlier on April 21, Shinde dubbed the political party headed by Uddhav Thackeray "nakli" (duplicate) which is only interested in the property of the late Bal Thackeray.
Addressing a gathering in Kalyan city in Thane district, Shinde said development is the main plank on which the Lok Sabha elections are being contested.
Notably, Shinde's son and sitting MP Shrikant Shinde is in the fray from the Kalyan constituency. The CM said electing MPs from the NDA bloc is very crucial for the development of the country and economic growth.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rightly said that it (Shiv Sena-UBT) is 'nakli' Shiv Sena, which is only interested in the property of Balasaheb (Thackeray)," Shinde said.
He appealed to voters to support the Mahayuti alliance of Shiv Sena led by him, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, and the BJP in the elections. Shinde said the Mahayuti is committed to driving progress and prosperity across Maharashtra.
(With agencies inputs)
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