Maharashtra: Shiv Sena rebel faction hurls 'yuvraj' barb at Aaditya Thackeray

With Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray intensifying attack on the rebel faction by calling them lsquogaddarsrsquo traitors the dissidents have broken their pledge to not target any member of the Thackeray family and dubbed the former minister a ldquoYuvrajrdquo prince Legislators in the camp led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde feel that Aaditya Thackeray has ldquocrossed the linerdquo and spreading lies against them and it was high time they hit backOn Thursday the dissident MLAs targeted Aaditya Thackeray former minister and son of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray by displaying a banner against him on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan on the last day of the legislature sessionThe banner reads ldquoYuvrajanchi disha chuklirdquo the prince has missed his pathAaditya Thackeray countered them by shouting ldquo50 khoke edum okayrdquo implying that the rebel MLAs got money to switch their loyalties leading to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackerayled tripartite MVA government in June and Shinde taking oath as the chief ministerOn Wednesday legislators of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party BJP and the Shinde loyalists staged a similar protest targeting former CM Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya ThackerayThey carried banners with messages alleging corruption in the cashrich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC controlled by Shiv Sena and claimed the Thackerays compromised on Hindutva for powerSome banners read ldquoRaja a reference to Uddhav stayed indoors due to fear of COVID19 while friends of the ldquoYuvrajrdquo a reference to Aaditya looted the treasuryAlso Read Maharashtra Shiv Sena joins hands with Sambhaji BrigadeThey shouted slogans like ldquostanding committee che khokehelliprsquoMatoshreersquo okayrdquo alleging corruption in the BMC with the support of the ThackerayslsquoMatoshreersquo is the private residence of the Thackerays in suburban MumbaiThis is perhaps the first time since the MLAs revolted against the Sena leadership in June that they have targeted the ThackeraysIn the past the rebel faction spokesperson Deepak Kesarkar had said the dissidents wonrsquot attack Uddhav and Aaditya as they hail from the Thackeray familyOver the last few days Aaditya Thackeray has been touring the constituencies of the rebel MLAs dubbing them ldquotraitorsrdquo and accusing them of stabbing his father in the back when he was illThe ldquogaddarrdquo jibe seems to have not gone well with the rebel MLAs Adding to the bad blood was the sloganeering by Aaditya Thackeray who was backed by Sena MLAs and some Nationalist Congress Party legislators during the recentlyconcluded monsoon sessionSada Sarvankar rebel Sena MLA from Mahim in Mumbai said the dissidents were in no mood to take the barbs lying downldquoHe Aaditya Thackeray calls us traitors but it is they the Thackerays who backstabbed Hindutva by joining hands with the NCP and Congress For how long are we going to listen to his barbs We are paying back in the same coinrdquo Sarvankar told PTISanjay Shirsat another rebel Sena MLA said attacking Aaditya Thackeray was necessary to ldquocounter the liesrdquo spread by himldquoIf you cross the limit we will also not sit quietly We have been working with your father even before you were born Balasaheb Thackerayrsquos grandson Aaditya has been reduced to sitting on the stairsrdquo Shirsat saidThe Aurangabad west MLA was one of the first dissidents of Shiv Sena to remove photos of Uddhav and Aaditya from his offices saying the photos of those who dub him a traitor will not adorn his officeIn photos Protest continue in Maha assembly Shiv Sena factions target each otherYogesh Kadam another rebel Sena legislator representing the Dapoli assembly segment said Aaditya Thackeray will be replied in the same coinldquoTill now we kept quiet because the surname Thackeray was involved We did not pay heed because we respect lsquoMatoshreersquo If you attack us we will not keep quietrdquo Kadam addedHowever the Shiv Sena views it as a victory for AadityaShiv Senarsquos mouthpiece lsquoSaamanarsquo carried a flier on its front page on Friday with a story on how the breakaway faction was compelled to sit on the stairs of the state legislature and how they were ldquoscaredrdquo of AadityaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever