Yes, I am a contractual CM working for people’s welfare: Shinde’s riposte to Uddhav

Minutes after Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray tore into chief minister Eknath Shinde, calling him ‘a traitor’ and ‘an agent of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) top leaders’, the latter said his revolt was the wish of the people and he was a ‘contractual CM’ working for the well-being of all factions

Minutes after Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray tore into chief minister Eknath Shinde, calling him ‘a traitor’ and ‘an agent of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) top leaders’, the latter said his revolt was the wish of the people and he was a ‘contractual CM’ working for the well-being of all factions.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde addresses a gathering during an event on the occasion of 'World Ozone Day', in Mumbai, Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. (PTI Photo) (PTI09_16_2022_000093A) (PTI)

Shinde addressed a rally in Delhi on Wednesday where Sena workers from several states participated.

“He called me a puppet in the hands of my political bosses, but let me tell him [Thackeray] that I am a true fighter and a loyal believer in the ideology of party founder Balasaheb Thackeray. I have been criticised as a traitor, but let me ask you, wasn’t what you did by joining hands with Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party treachery? Despite having fought the elections in an alliance with the BJP, you formed the government with the parties against whom we had fought for our lives. Was not it a betrayal for the sake of power?” he asked.

Replying to the accusation by Thackeray that Shinde was using his father’s name for political gain, the CM said he was carrying forward the legacy of the Sena founder and he was the real torch bearer of the ideology and the Hindutva taught by Balasaheb.

“They have accused me of being the agent of prime minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah. I am proud of being so, as they fulfilled Balasaheb’s dream of abrogating Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and building Ram temple in Ayodhya. If he [Thackeray] is calling me a contractual CM, I am okay with that, as I have taken the contract of the well-being of the people,” he said.

Shinde announced to appoint one MP and a minister from Maharashtra as in-charge of states where his faction has office-bearers and workers. Alleging that Thackeray is desperately trying to stop party chiefs from other states from joining his camp, the CM said Thackeray governed Sena like ‘a private limited company’.

Shinde was in Delhi along with his cabinet colleagues Uday Samant, Sandipan Bhumare, and Deepak Kesarkar. The delegation met union ministers to push industrial projects in the state. “We have also sought an appointment with the prime minister in the next two weeks to discuss the mega projects expected to come to Maharashtra,” Samant said.