A fierce war of words broke between Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis after a woman worker from the Thackeray-led faction was allegedly attacked by activists of rival Shiv Sena.
Thackeray, his wife Rashmi, and son Aaditya Thackeray met the injured woman at a hospital in Thane city. Talking to reporters, Thackeray said the woman party worker was kicked in her stomach despite her pleading that she was undergoing fertility treatment. "Maharashtra has got a worthless home minister. A helpless and servile man is the home minister here. He was not ready to act when his party men were attacked by the 'Mindhe' (a term Thackeray's party uses for Chief Minister Eknath Shinde) group.
"Should one call him (Shinde) the chief minister or a goonda mantri? I am not saying that, but people will decide. They should have a minister in charge of the goonda department when they expand their cabinet," Thackeray said.
Hitting back Fadnavis said Thackeray was a "weak" chief minister who had sacrificed his ideology for the sake of power and need not be given importance. "I can reply to him (Thackeray) in the same language, but I won't use that kind of language. Uddhav Thackeray is frustrated. He was chief minister for two-and-a-half years but he never stepped out of his residence. He did all his work from home and never went among people, and people know about it," he said.
Thackeray was "so weak" that he could not ask the two ministers who were jailed to resign because he was scared of losing his post, the senior BJP leader said.
A rare bonhomie was on display between Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and former CM Uddhav Thackeray after both were seen entering the state assembly together, fueling speculations about whether the state is going to witness another political surprise..
