Uddhav calls Fadnavis ‘worthless home minister’, latter hits back with …

This comes as Dr Umesh Sudam Alegaonkar, Sampada Hospital, said “There is no active bleeding and no internal injury on her body. The woman is admitted. There are no bones fracture, body is suffering from blunt trauma. She is stable right now. Even after sonography, there was no internal injury. Further medical details are awaited”, on the woman who alleged that she was beaten by Eknath Shinde faction women supporters.

“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 own party men were attacked by the ‘Mindhe’ (a term Thackeray’s party uses for Chief Minister Eknath Shinde) group.” Uddhav Thackeray said.

Thackeray, his wife Rashmi, and son Aditya Thackeray met the injured woman at a hospital in Thane city, the bastion of his bete noire Eknath Shinde who toppled the MVA government last June to become the chief minister by joining hands with BJP.

Talking to reporters, Thackeray said the woman party worker was kicked in her stomach despite her pleading that she was undergoing fertility treatment.

“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 added.

“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.

He said the state home minister should resign immediately and also targeted the Thane police commissioner calling him “useless” for allegedly not acting against those who attacked Shiv Sena (UBT) workers.

Fadnavis hit back, saying Thackeray was a “weak” chief minister who had sacrificed his ideology for the sake of power and need not be given importance.

Speaking in Nagpur, Fadnavis said Thackeray was a “weak” chief minister who couldn’t ask two ministers in his cabinet who were jailed to resign, an apparent reference to Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik (both NCP MLAs).

“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.

Thackeray became chief minister in November 2019 after Shiv Sena (undivided) joined hands with the NCP and Congress to form a Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which collapsed in June 2022.