Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Wednesday morning. The meeting was seen as the Sena’s attempt to pacify ally Congress after it skipped the meeting of Opposition parties against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) earlier this week.
Thackeray met Gandhi at his residence in the capital. This was the first meeting between the two scions after their parties joined hands to form a government in Maharashtra.
It is learnt that Thackeray apprised Gandhi about the state government’s welfare programme including loan waiver. The two leaders also discussed the current political scenario in the country.
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Interestingly, Thackeray had flown to Delhi a day before swearing-in of Uddhav Thackeray in November to personally invite Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh. He did not meet Rahul Gandhi at the time. On the swearing-in on November 28, no one from the Gandhi family was present.
The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) - the new allies of the Sena - were unhappy with the absence of Sena leaders in the anti-CAA meeting called by Sonia Gandhi. Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that there was ‘miscommunication’ over the meeting.
The Sena is now expected to attend an event to oppose CAA and National Population Register (NPR) in New Delhi later this month.