After Aaditya Thackeray skips key meet on Mumbai City, Shiv Sena says he lacks courage to face Shinde

Mumbai: The ruling Shiv Sena on Thursday claimed rival camp leader Aaditya Thackeray did not have the courage to face Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde after he skipped a key meeting of development panel on Mumbai City district presided over by the latter.

Eknath Shinde, who is the guardian minister of Mumbai City and also heads the Shiv Sena, presided over the meeting of the District Planning and Development Council (DPDC). During the meeting, a Rs 690-crore development plan for 2024-25 was approved for Mumbai City.

Usually, MLAs, MLCs and MPs from a district are invited for DPDC gatherings. So lawmakers from Mumbai City attended the meeting on Thursday.

However, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Thackeray, who represents Mumbai's Worli seat, skipped the DPDC meeting, prompting the Eknath Shinde-led party to hit out at the former state minister.

"He (Thackeray) is not bothered about his constituency. Being absent for an important meeting shows his love for Mumbai and his constituency (Worli). He did not have courage to face Shinde as the guardian minister," claimed Shiv Sena MLC Manisha Kayande.

Four Shiv Sena lawmakers attended the meeting.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Sachin Ahir said although Thackeray did not attend the meeting, he had shared the points to be raised during the DPDC gathering. Shiv Sena (UBT) lawmakers present at the meet raised those issues, he said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Sunil Shinde said he raised issues related to redevelopment of old chawls (row tenements), traffic congestion and bad quality water in the city. Both Ahir and Sunil Shinde hail from Worli in central Mumbai.

Another lawmaker pointed out that Thackeray also did not attend the DPDC meeting when Deepak Kesarkar was the guardian minister of Mumbai City during the first Mahayuti government.

Kesarkar was one of the 39 MLAs of the undivided Shiv Sena who rebelled against party president and then-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in June 2022.

Since the Eknath Shinde-led revolt against the Thackerays, which led to a split in the party, relations between the two sides have been acrimonious.

Talking to reporters, deputy CM Eknath Shinde said several issues related to Mumbai City were discussed at the meeting.

The deputy CM said he has directed officials to send written compliances of the issues raised by the lawmakers.