Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Credit: PTI File Photos
Mumbai: "Either you will remain, or I will," said Uddhav Thackeray warning his bete noire Devendra Fadnavis in what triggered a fresh war-of-words between two former allies in the run up to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections.
Former chief minister and ex-leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Fadnavis, now the deputy chief minister, was instrumental in toppling the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
Thackeray’s comments assume significance in the wake of claims of senior NCP(SP) leader and then Home minister Anil Deshmukh that Fadnavis has sent a man with affidavits asking him to give written allegations against him, his son and then minister Aaditya Thackeray, then deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar (also now the deputy chief minister in Maha Yuti government) and then minister Anil Parab.
Addressing Shiv Sena (UBT) workers, Thackeray said, “Deshmukh has revealed that you (Fadnavis) tried to put me and my son Aditya in jail. (From now on), either one of us would be there, either you or me”.
While the Shiv Sena (UBT) workers cheered, the statement rattled the BJP ranks and saw the top leaders rushing for Fadnavi's defence.
State BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule accused Thackeray of conspiring to put Fadnavis in jail when the then Shiv Sena president was the chief minister.
"It was Thackeray who hatched a conspiracy against Fadnavis when he was the chief minister to jail him. But with the blessings of the public, Thackeray could not put Fadnavis in jail,” he said, adding that Thackeray stabbed Fadnavis on the back. “God's blessings are with Fadnavis…people are with Fadnavis,” he said.