‘Traitors’ Day’ observed by Thackeray faction, police detain functionaries

Shiv Sena factions observe June 20 in opposite ways: Sena (UBT) dubs it Traitors' Day and holds protests, while Shinde-led Sena celebrates Self-Respect Day.

A single day, June 20, was observed by the two factions of the Shiv Sena in diametrically opposite modes: while Shiv Sena (UBT) workers dubbed it Gaddar Din (Traitors’ Day) and held protests all over the state, the Shinde-led Sena retaliated by “celebrating” Swabhiman Din (Self-Respect Day). June 20 last year was when Shinde split the undivided Shiv Sena to join forces with the BJP and topple the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

Thane, India - June, 20, 2023: MLA jitendra ahwad with Thane NCP party workers on Tuesday staged a protest outside the NCP office in Thane by burning boxes against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde calling it "Gaddar divas" ,in Thane, in Mumbai, India, on,Tuesday, June, 20, 2023. ( Praful Gangurde / HT Photo )

Party workers, shouting slogans against Shinde and his MLAs, gathered in Aurangabad, Hingoli, Kolhapur, Solapur and Nashik with boxes carrying the slogan ‘50 khoke ekdum ok’ written on them. The slogan, referring to the ₹50 crore allegedly paid to Shinde and Co to split the Sena, has been a common refrain in political protests since the fall of the MVA, and has never failed to rile CM Shinde and his partymen.

The ruling parties attempted to nip the Sena (UBT)’s protests in the bud. Nine functionaries, including deputy leader of the Thackeray faction Arun Dudhwadkar and divisional chief Santosh Shinde were picked up by the LT Marg police, while force was also deployed at Nagpada to pre-empt any untoward incident.

“We received intelligence about the protests early in the morning, after which we issued notices to some party functionaries to refrain,” said a police officer. “But they decided to go ahead with the protests, and therefore to prevent any law-and-order situation, we detained them. We let them go after an hour with a warning.”

An irate Thackeray faction declared that the Shinde government had used police force to save itself from embarrassment. Chief spokesperson Arvind Sawant expressed anger over the detention of Dudhwadkar and Shinde, calling it police oppression by the government.

Aaditya Thackeray also came down heavily on the Shinde government. “The world is watching as democracy is being killed in Maharashtra every day,” he said. “Today the police are being used to pick up Shiv Sena office-bearers from their homes and offices only because the leader of the ‘Gaddar Gang’ fears that people will stage political protests against his shameless treachery. Are political protests banned in Maharashtra?” asked Aaditya Thackeray on Twitter while sharing videos of the police forcibly detaining local leaders.

The Sena (UBT)’s political ally, the NCP, also staged protests at several places in the state, with NCP working president Supriya Sule taking part in one such. The police, however, did not allow NCP workers to hold placards with the slogan ‘Pannas khoke ( ₹50 crore), ekdum ok’.

Sule termed the police interference as oppression. “Where is democracy if we are not allowed to protest, a right ensured by the Constitution?” she remarked, adding that Maharashtra would never bow before oppression. “I have the guts to call a traitor a traitor, and I dare the police to put us behind bars,” she said. “No one can stop me from telling the truth.”

MP Sanjay Raut, to rub more salt into the Shinde Sena’s wounds, shared a mock letter on Twitter to the secretary-general of the United Nations, requesting that June 20 be declared ‘World Traitors’ Day’. Raut, while speaking to the media, also took a dig at Narendra Modi and said that during his US tour, the PM should also persuade the UN to do this.

Reacting to the protests, Krishna Hegde, spokesperson of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, said, “After getting votes on the Hindutva issue in alliance with the BJP, Uddhav Thackeray broke away to form a government with the Congress-NCP. He betrayed the mandate of the people. Eknath Shinde rebelled and took a historic step to correct the wrongdoings of Thackeray. Hence, we celebrated Tuesday as Swabhiman Din.”