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Shinde reacts to Uddhav's ‘even Pakistan can’ remark: ‘unfortunate and tragic’
Uddhav Thackeray has continued his attack on Election Commission for recognising Shinde's faction as the real Shiv Sena.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday took a swipe at his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray, saying it is unfortunate that Pakistan's certificate is required to decide whom the real Shiv Sena belongs to.
Addressing a huge rally at Pachora in the Jalgaon district of north Maharashtra, Thackeray said seeing the support he is getting from people, even Pakistan will tell whom the real Shiv Sena belongs to, but the Election Commission (EC) cannot do so as it is “suffering from cataract”.
Referring to his statement, Shinde, at an event in Thane, said, “Somebody spoke in Jalgaon that even Pakistan will know whom the real Shiv Sena belongs to. This is unfortunate and tragic that Pakistan's certificate is needed to decide whom the Shiv Sena belongs to.”
In its order on February 17, Election Commission recognised Shinde’s faction will inherit the original party’s name and its symbol, capping an eight-month-long battle between the two leaders over control of the party that suffered a vertical split last year.
Thackeray approached the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the ECI order and submitted that the poll panel failed to act as a neutral arbiter in the feud. The bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud turned down Thackeray’s plea to stay the order even as it admitted the appeal and issued notices to Shinde and ECI, saying it cannot stay the decision or restrain Shinde from claiming the party’s name or properties.
On Sunday, Thackeray asserted that his party and supporters would ensure that “traitors” would be politically finished, in an obvious reference to Shinde and his supporting MLAs, whose rebellion led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in June 2022.
“We will see to it that you are finished. We have cleansed the blot on the state created due to the treachery. Maharashtra is the land of brave people and not traitors,” Thackeray said.
(With PTI inputs)
