CM Eknath Shinde leaves Opposition speechless

Mumbai: Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s impassioned speech lasted slightly over an hour in the Vidhan Sabha and was a direct assault on former CM Uddhav Thackeray for the ignominies he suffered personally, as well as the stepbrotherly treatment his party Ministers faced from NCP, Congress Ministers in the “unnatural” MVA alliance.

Shinde made a noholds-barred disclosure, prompting his deputy, Devendra Fadnavis, to interrupt him at one point with advice against placing all the facts in the public domain as they could have relevance in future politics. An un-fettered Shinde, however, revealed that he was never desirous or greedy for the post of CM even as his party Chief Uddhav Thackeray informed him of his choice as the MVA government was being cobbled together through the machinations by NCP Chief Sharad Pawar in 2019.

“I was told I would be the CM and I said no problem. Then I was informed that Sharad Pawar had decided to install Thackeray as the CM, which did not make me unhappy either. However, when MVA minister Ajit Pawar referred to the alliance as an accident within my earshot, the sentiment among the Sena MLAs was being roused about the unnatural political alignment we were forced to join,” Shinde said. He hinted at the political ignominy faced every day by Sena ministers at the hands of leaders such as Jayant Patil, Ajit Pawar, some Congress leaders, and lamented that his five attempts to seek redressal from CM Thackeray failed to resolve the issue.

“Who was responsible for disenfranchising Balasaheb Thackeray for six years? We wanted to publicly speak of our great love and affection for Swatantra Veer Savarkar but could not, as the Congress was against it. When a minister was arrested for his close ties with underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim (responsible for the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts) we had to remain quiet on the issue,” Shinde revealed. The CM then said that the Sena ministers and MLAs alike compelled him to fight to ensure the continued existence of Balasaheb Thackeray’s Hindutva and his political mentor Anand Dighe’s concept of Jwalant (burning passion for the Sena values of public service), leaving him no choice but to exit the government. CM Shinde not only addressed the points raised by Shiv Sena leaders during their respective speeches but also has thrown down the political gauntlet at his former chief Uddhav Thackeray through his speech that left many absolutely speechless.