Stabbed in the back by people we trusted, says Aaditya Thackeray on Shinde camp

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray lost his position as chief minister after Shinde and his loyalists rebelled against the MVA alliance.

Bhiwandi: Shiv Sena MLA and former minister Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday dared lawmakers who switched sides to resign their assembly seats and win their seats in fresh elections, insisting that the Eknath Shinde-led government was unlawful, undemocratic and will not survive for long.

Former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray is reaching out to Shiv Sainiks in an effort to consolidate the Thackeray family’s control over party units (Twitter/AUThackeray)

Thackeray, who is touring Bhiwandi, Shahpur and Igatpuri on Thursday, reiterated that real Shiv Sainiks are still with the party led by his father Uddhav Thackeray but added that the doors of Matoshree are going to remain open for those who want to return.

Uddhav Thackeray lost his position as chief minister after Shinde and his loyalists rebelled against the MVA alliance. Eknath Shinde, along with 39 other Sena lawmakers, joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form the government in Maharashtra. On June 30, Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister, while BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the deputy CM.

“Whatever happened in the last one month was sad and unfortunate. Whoever we trusted and gave ministerial posts stabbed us in the back. These are not rebels or revolutionaries as they call themselves, these are merely back-stabbers. This is not democracy or politics… Those who left were never Shiv Sainiks, the hundreds of people who have gathered here are the real Sainiks. Those who left are merely who had indigestion after eating too much.”

Aaditya was welcomed by Shiv Sainiks at the Anandnagar Check Naka from where he went ahead to Bhiwandi.

The former minister said that they did everything for development in the last two and a half years. “We could not play politics. We neither troubled the Opposition by filing false complaints against them nor did we keep a watch on the movements of our MLAs as we trusted them. This faith that we had in the people landed us in this situation. They are not free today. During the presidential elections too, all of them came in a bus like some prisoners. If any of them want to return, the doors of Matoshree are always open.”