Uddhav dubs Fadnavis a ‘worthless’ home minister, seeks resignation

THANE, APR 4 (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday dubbed Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis a “worthless” home minister after a woman worker from the Thackeray-led faction was allegedly attacked by activists of rival Shiv Sena, and sought his resignation.

Fadnavis hit back, saying Thackeray was a “weak” chief minister who had sacrificed his ideology for the sake of power and need not be given importance.

Thackeray, his wife Rashmi, and son Aaditya Thackeray met the injured woman at a hospital in Thane city, the bastion of his bete noire Eknath Shinde who toppled the MVA government last June to become the chief minister by joining hands with BJP.

Talking to reporters, Thackeray said the woman party worker was kicked in her stomach despite her pleading that she was un- dergoing fertility treatment.

“Maharashtra has got a worthless home minister. A helpless and servile man is the home minister here. He was not ready to act when his own party men were attacked by the ‘Mindhe’ (a term Thackeray’s party uses for Chief Minister Eknath Shinde) group.

“Should one call him (Shinde) the chief minister or a goonda mantri? I am not saying that, but people will decide. They should have a minister in charge of the goonda department when they expand their cabinet,” Thackeray said.

He said the state home minister should resign immediately and also targeted the Thane police commissioner calling him “useless” for allegedly not acting against those who attacked Shiv Sena (UBT) workers. Thackeray said Shiv Sainiks and the common people are capable of uprooting the BJP-Shiv Sena combine from Thane. say what BJP is saying? Every time you say what BJP is saying.”

Speaking in Nagpur, Fadnavis said Thackeray was a “weak” chief minister who couldn’t ask two ministers in his cabinet who were jailed to resign, an apparent reference to Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik (both NCP MLAs).

“There is a very simple thing.

Who owns the Rs 20,000 cr in Adani ji’s shell companies? It is ‘benami’. Who owns it,” Gandhi said, reiterating his allegations. In a tweet later, Gandhi questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “silence” and asked why is he “frightened”.’ Targeting him, the BJP said that “insulting the country’s backward classes and the media is Rahul Gandhi’s mindset” and called him an “arrogant dynast”.

“Rahul Gandhi has again attacked the fourth pillar of democracy. Insulting the country’s backward classes and the media is Rahul Gandhi’s mindset.

“He is following in the footsteps of his grandmother with his audacity to frequently attack the country’s democratic system,” BJP’s chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Anil Baluni tweeted.