Sena MP Shrikant Shinde slams Uddhav Thackeray for dragging his son's name in Dussehra rally speech

Lok Sabha member Shrikant Shinde on Thursday objected to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray dragging the name of his one-and-a-half year old son during his Dussehra rally speech a day ago, and asked whether targeting a child suited his Hindutva.Shrikant Shinde is the son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.


PTI | Mumbai | Updated: 06-10-2022 21:28 IST | Created: 06-10-2022 21:28 IST
Sena MP Shrikant Shinde slams Uddhav Thackeray for dragging his son's name in Dussehra rally speech
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Lok Sabha member Shrikant Shinde on Thursday objected to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray ''dragging'' the name of his one-and-a-half year old son during his Dussehra rally speech a day ago, and asked whether targeting a child suited his Hindutva.

Shrikant Shinde is the son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The rebel Sena MP represents the Kalyan Lok Sabha seat in Thane district.

On Wednesday, both the factions of the Shiv Sena - one led by Thackeray and other by CM Shinde - held their rallies that saw attacks and counter-attacks against each other. During his speech, Thackeray had attacked CM Shinde as he referred to his son (Shrikant) as a brat and said his grandson Rudransh has an eye on the corporator's post. Thackeray also slammed the chief minister for ''betraying'' him despite enjoying various positions as he was made a minister and his son an MP.

In an open letter posted on Facebook, Shrikant Shinde said late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray seared his political opponents, but never resorted to such ''lowly'' remarks.

''Do you understand the views shared by you on Hindutva? I just want to ask you one thing whether such dragging a one-and-half-year old son suits your Hindutva?'' he asked.

Berating Thackeray, Shinde asked how a former chief minister could use such a language against a child.

''Uddhavji, my father is the chief minister of the state and I am an MP, but at the end of the day, we are human beings with flesh and blood and feelings. Do you have any idea how shocked our family was by your statement yesterday?...Hearing what you said yesterday, the baby's mother and grandmother were extremely hurt. Tears welled up in their eyes,'' he said.

''They are wondering how a politician can say such things about a child...I don't have the answer. Can any civilised and sensitive person say that?...The family for which we sacrificed our lives, how painful it would be for us if a prominent member of the same family passes such a remark about our little one.

''Uddhavji, you will also become a grandfather in future...What will happen to you and your family if someone says about your grandson what you said yesterday?'' he asked.

The rebel Sena MP also told Thackeray that with the passage of time, a lot of things were slipping out of his hands, and that he should think about it. Eknath Shinde, whose rebellion against the Sena leadership led to the collapse of the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, took oath as the chief minister on June 30. Meanwhile, taking a dig at Eknath Shinde, Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande said while Uddhav Thackeray spoke extempore during his Dussehra rally, Shinde was ''reading out'' his speech for one hour and 28 minutes.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar also took a dig at Shinde. ''Some speeches were stretched beyond any reason,'' Pawar said without naming the chief minister.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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