‘No matter how many dips you take, mark of betrayal will remain forever’: Thackeray slams Shinde
Mumbai, Feb 27 (IANS) Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday took a swipe at the Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief leader Eknath Shinde saying that ‘no matter how many dips you take, the mark of betrayal will remain forever’.
He was commenting on the visit by Shinde and his party ministers on Monday to take a holy dip in the Ganga during the Kumbh Mela. He was speaking at the function organised on the occasion of Marathi Bhasha Divas.
In a stinging taunt to Shinde, the Shiv Sena UBT chief said: “I came from bath in Ganga and took 50 khoke and then took a holy dip there. What is the use of such dip? Commit a treachery against Maharashtra and go there to take a dip. No matter how many dips you take, the mark of betrayal will remain forever.”
Thackeray’s swipe at Shinde came hours after the latter questioned his absence from the Maha Kumbh Mela despite calling himself Hindu.
He stepped up attacks against Shinde saying that people who go to Dubai to watch the cricket match between India and Pakistan after their return are telling about Balasaheb Thackeray’s thoughts.
“Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra. The Marathi theatre in this capital has made a big contribution. The plays that were necessary at that time were brought and the society was taught what should be done. People who go to Dubai and watch cricket matches are telling us about Balasaheb’s thoughts. No matter where the India-Pakistan match is, they will go and watch the match,” he remarked.
“Why don’t you go to your village and sit there because you didn’t get a ministerial post?” he asked.
He warned Shinde that they will not allow the outsiders to enter the state.
Thackeray recalled that when he was the chief minister he made Marathi language compulsory in the state.
“We will speak Marathi in Maharashtra. I made this law that Marathi boards should be displayed in shops. But how could someone go to a court against the government’s decision? We are Hindus but we are also Marathi. I am not against the Gujarati community. But they (the central government) want to destroy Marathi and Maharashtra. They want to destroy Mumbai. They want to take out industries,” he claimed.
“There is no deficiency in our language. How much effort was put into giving it the status of a classical language to Marathi. Who are you (the central government) to give the status of a classical language? The language of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was Marathi. If it were not for him, you would not have seen Delhi,” he taunted.
–IANS
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