Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde officially took charge of the state secretariat ministry on Thursday. A puja was performed at the lavishly decorated office of the Chief Minister before Shinde took charge.
He had a large picture of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray in his room and Anand Dighe, Shinde’s guru next to him.
As he entered the Secretariat building, Shinde paid floral tributes to the Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Dr BR Ambedkar. Deepak Kesarkar, spokesperson of Shinde-led MLAs’ faction, told reporters that Bal Thackeray is not anybody’s property.
Asked about the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction’s objection to the Shinde group using the late Shiv Sena founder’s name and photograph, he said, “Balasaheb belongs to the entire state and no one can change this fact.”
Hitting out at Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, Kesarkar said, “Raut is close to Sharad Pawar, I don’t know about Uddhavji. That’s when I realized that Shiv Sena is in Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA- which includes Shiv Sena, NCP and NCP). Problems are being faced. Congress), I tried to convince Uddhavji. I never met him for ministerial post. He said, “In 2014 he told me that he cannot make me a cabinet minister as he should not be made a cabinet minister by Balasaheb. The first priority was to be given to the Shiv Sena leaders working with him. That’s why I respect Uddhavji.”
Kesarkar also criticized the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena’s decision to replace Bhavna Gawli as the party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha. “By such action you are insulting women. She is a five-time MP who has held the Shiv Sena flag high,” he said. The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction on Wednesday named Rajan Vichare as the party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha in place of Gawli.
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