Maharashtra: Uddhav dubs Fadnavis a 'worthless' home minister, seeks his resignation; he hits back with 'weak' ex-CM jibe

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 Thackerayled faction was allegedly attacked by activists of rival Shiv Sena and sought his resignationFadnavis hit back saying Thackeray was a weak chief minister who had sacrificed his ideology for the sake of power and need not be given importanceThackeray 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 BJPTalking to reporters Thackeray said the woman party worker was kicked in her stomach despite her pleading that she was undergoing fertility treatmentMaharashtra 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 Thackerays party uses for Chief Minister Eknath Shinde groupShould 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 saidHe 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 workersThackeray said Shiv Sainiks and the common people are capable of uprooting the BJPShiv Sena combine from ThaneSpeaking in Nagpur Fadnavis said Thackeray was a weak chief minister who couldnt ask two ministers in his cabinet who were jailed to resign an apparent reference to Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik both NCP MLAsI can reply to him Thackeray in the same language but I wont use that kind of language Uddhav Thackeray is frustrated He was chief minister for twoandahalf years but he never stepped out of his residence He did all his work from home and never went among people and people know about it he saidThackeray was so weak that he could not ask the two ministers who were jailed to resign because he was scared of losing his post the senior BJP leader saidThackeray became chief minister in November 2019 after Shiv Sena undivided joined hands with the NCP and Congress to form a Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA government which collapsed in June 2022Fadnavis said the people of Maharashtra and the country know him Thackeray as the chief minister who reinstated blackmailer Sachin Waze into the police force and tried to save himAlso Read Ram Navami clash MHA seeks detailed report from West Bengal governmentThe BJP leader said he didnt give importance to the person who abandoned ideology for the CMs postThe person Thackeray who stayed at home for twoandahalf years should not teach us politics and should not test our patience he saidThackeray also claimed that the Thane police commissioner was not present in the office when he went to meet himShiv Sena UBT activists will take out a morcha on Wednesday which will be led by Aaditya Thackeray to the police commissioners office and lock it he saidFadnavis has no moral right to remain in office If he Fadnavis is left with any shame he should immediately dismiss the Thane police commissioner or transfer him and bring in a police officer who can control the law and order situation Days after the attack on the woman party worker no FIR has been registered so far Thackeray saidTargeting Shinde he alleged the chief minister unleashes hooligans against Opposition activists in the stateGoing by the recent incidents wherein a BJP worker and a Congress worker were beaten up and a journalist being threatened the observation of the Supreme Court that the Maharashtra government is impotent is proving right Thackeray said adding Shiv Sainiks will not sit quietlyMeanwhile separate press conferences were held by Shiv Sena spokesperson Naresh Mhaske and a woman leader both loyalists of CM Shinde who dismissed the attack claim by the woman Shiv Sena UBT worker as a drama for public sympathyFadnavis further targeted Thackeray saying You put photos of PM Modi and win elections with us but your greed for power makes you join hands with the Opposition Now everybody knows who is fadtoos worthless in the true senseThe Shiv Sena undivided and BJP had been in power from 2014 to 2019 with Fadnavis as the chief ministerFadnavis said he would continue to be the home ministerI had been the state home minister for five years Some people are praying that my portfolio is removed Many people are uncomfortable because I still hold the home ministry But I will continue to hold the home portfolio as I am not here because of their Opposition favour he saidSpeaking on the alleged attack on the woman Shiv Sena UBT worker Fadnavis said the matter will be probed without bias and there is no need to politicise itWhen asked if he was being targeted deliberately Fadnavis invoked Chanakya an ancient Indian polymath and royal advisorChanakya had once said that whenever thieves dacoits or bad elements in the society speak against the king then you can safely assume that the king is doing the right thing I am not a king but you would know what Chanakya has said is turning out to be true he addedThis 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