Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday said the "unconstitutional" state government headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will not last long and fall very soon.
Aaditya, son of Shiv Sena president and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, was addressing a rally at Badnapur in Jalna district as part of his 'Shiv Samvad Yatra'. "People of Maharashtra know how this government is being run. This unconstitutional government would not last for many days. It will fall very soon," he said.
Aaditya's remarks came ahead of the Supreme Court starting hearing the matter related to the disqualification of 16 rebel MLAs of Shiv Sena daily beginning February 14. Shinde, who rebelled against Shiv Sena leadership last June leading to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, heads the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena (BSS) faction of Shiv Sena and shares power with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
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"I had asked chief minister Eknath Shinde and dared him to remove state governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari for insulting great personalities. He had insulted public icons and Maharashtra, but Shinde did not utter a single word," Aaditya alleged. The Opposition has been demanding the removal of Koshyari for "insulting" Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj by calling him the "icon of olden times".
Aaditya also said he had challenged CM Shinde to contest the Assembly election against him from the Worli seat in Mumbai or Thane. Aaditya represents the Worli Assembly seat while Thane is the home turf of the chief minister. He alleged the Shinde-BJP government was wasting public money.
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"They (rebel MLAs) had gone to see 'dongar and jhadi' (mountain and forest- a reference to the stay of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs at a hotel in Guwahati last year). They (chief minister Shinde and others) went to Davos (for World Economic Forum) and spent Rs 40 crore to see snow. How could they spend Rs 40 crore in just 28 hours? he asked.
