Mumbai: The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, calling him a “failed” home minister and claimed that the law and order situation in the state was poor and farmers were committing suicide. An editorial in Shiv Sena’s (UBT) mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not even warning China after the renaming of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh. The Saamana editorial said that empty threats are being issued to Pakistan, but what about China, which has ‘intruded’ into Indian territory?
Uddhav vs Fadnavis
Earlier this week, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray termed Fadnavis as a ‘useless’ home minister after a woman worker of the Thackeray-led faction was allegedly assaulted by rival Shiv Sena workers in Thane. .
Fadnavis then retorted that he was a “bullet” while Thackeray was a “weak” chief minister who had sacrificed his ideology for power and did not need to be valued.
Supreme Court on hate speech FIR
Notably, the Supreme Court, while hearing a contempt petition recently, sought action against several state authorities, including Maharashtra, for registering First Information Reports (FIRs) against those allegedly making hate speeches. Commented harshly for failing.
“We are hearing the contempt petition as the states are not taking timely action. This is because the state has become impotent and powerless and does not act in time. If it is silent then why should we have a state,” the SC had said and posted the matter for further hearing on April 28 while seeking Maharashtra’s response on the plea.
Quoting the SC remark, Saamana said, “What should one address to make Maharashtra impotent which is not idle.” Farmers are committing suicide, but the government is not worried. Law and order has broken down in the state, it claimed.
He said, ‘You yourself decide that you are incompetent, but you are a failed Home Minister. Reigning does not mean taking revenge,” said the Marathi publication. The editorial further said, “You are nobody without the help of central agencies that give you gunpowder.”
It also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “snatching” the bow and arrow symbol from the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction. The Election Commission had earlier this year allotted the bow and arrow symbol to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the parent party.