Shiv Sena, NCP spar on Twitter

In a tweet on Tuesday, Munde took on Thackeray for asking a participant in party’s interactive programme ‘Aaditya Sanwad’ which party he belonged to. The Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council uploaded a video clip of the event where a participant asked Thackeray what has his party done to curb farmers’ suicide and said it was the “failure” of the state government.

With the Maharashtra Assembly polls around the corner, the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) took on each other on Twitter. NCP leader Dhananjay Munde and Sena functionaries sparred after the former questioned Sena leader and youth wing chief Aaditya Thackeray’s priority.

NCP leader Dhananjay Munde took on Thackeray for asking a participant in party’s interactive programme ‘Aaditya Sanwad’ which party he belonged to. (HT File Photo)

In a tweet on Tuesday, Munde took on Thackeray for asking a participant in party’s interactive programme ‘Aaditya Sanwad’ which party he belonged to. The Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council uploaded a video clip of the event where a participant asked Thackeray what has his party done to curb farmers’ suicide and said it was the “failure” of the state government. The video clip shows Thackeray asking the participant which party is he affiliated with.

“When there are important issues that farmers are committing suicides, children are orphaned, at such a time our prince feels it is important to know which party the youth belongs to. It is unfortunate that people who discriminate are in power today,” he wrote in a post on Twitter, tagging Sena’s and Thackeray’s official Twitter handles.

The Sena hit back at Munde and said that he put out an “edited” video. The Sena later retorted that the party has worked for farmers and put out NCP leader Ajit Pawar’s controversial ‘urine’ remark video to “remind” the party about how it failed to work for the farmers of Maharashtra. The Sena termed the video edited as it did not show Thackeray responding to the participant’s question.

Varun Sardesai, Yuva Sena secretary, led the charge on Munde and responded to the tweet. Sardesai replied, “You are a responsible office-bearer… Why are you putting up edited videos like children? Change your IT team.”

Subsequently, the Sena put up Pawar’s 2013 video where he made the controversial remark. The post, which had Pawar’s video, on Sena’s official Twitter handle said, “Sena leaders listen to people, respond properly to the questions of the people and help the needy in drought-hit areas. As you put up an edited video, you must have forgotten this, let us remind you.”

Several senior NCP leaders have crossed over to the Sena in the last few months.

Recently, during NCP’s Shiv Swarajya Yatra in Washim’s Karanja, Munde said Thackeray is addressed as “penguin” in Mumbai.