Mumbai:Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Monday alleged that Union home minister Amit Shah insulted Maharashtra and late Balasaheb Thackeray by calling Uddhav Thackeray a “traitor”. Raut said that the Shiv Sena has not betrayed anyone, but it was the BJP that betrayed Uddhav.
Raut was responding to Shah’s comment that the Maharashtra Assembly elections had buried the “politics of betrayal” allegedly started by Sharad Pawar in 1978 and continued by Uddhav Thackeray in 2019.
“The Shiv Sena never betrayed the BJP. In fact Amit Shah and Narendra Modi have encouraged traitors. Calling Uddhav Thackeray a tractor is the insult of Balasaheb Thackeray. People clapped on this statement of Amit Shah, which was Maharashtra’s insult,” Raut said.
Addressing BJP’s state executive meeting at Shirdi on Sunday, Mr. Shah had criticised Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray for the “politics of betrayal”. Hitting back at the Union minister, Raut said BJP’s leaders from Maharashtra should clarify if it is acceptable to them that an outsider comes and criticises leaders from the state.
“He (Shah) may be holding an important post. But he is an outsider. Was it appropriate that while he insulted Maharashtra’s leaders, others clapped? Those who were clapping for Shah’s statement should be ashamed,” Rut said.
Commenting on the current state of the INDIA bloc, Rau said that no alliance can succeed if dialogue among its partners ceases. He also insisted that the Congress, which is the largest constituent of the INDIA bloc, must take the responsibility. “It is the collective desire of all of us to progress further in the political landscape of this country. However, over the past few days, some of our alliance partners have started feeling that communication has broken down. No alliance can succeed if dialogue is severed,” he said.