MUMBAI: Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray in an interview with his party mouthpiece Saamana on Tuesday said when he was hospitalised for spine surgery and under anaesthesia, his body parts were not moving, but his own people – rebelled MLAs, who were given everything was plotting against him to topple his government.
In the first interview, after a major revolt of Shiv Sena MLAs, Thackeray spoke with Shiv Sena leader and Editor of Saamana Sanjay Raut that the hunger and greediness for the power of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his camp are insatiable and he had given the number two position in government and party.
Coming heavily on Shinda, Thackeray said, “Shinde is the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, now he wants to gobble up his mother party – Shiv Sena. This is demon-like greediness that no one can satisfy.”
"He wants to be the Shiv Sena president. So, even if we had given him the Chief Minister post, he would not have stopped there. Sena has faced many revolts, but no one tried and succeeded to finish their mother-party Shiv Sena, but here they want to finish Shiv Sena with the help of the BJP. I will not blame him or these rebelled MLAs, but it is my fault that I trusted and believed them blindly like our family members. And they conspired against me when I was in the hospital,” he said.
"When I was in the hospital for spine surgery, some people were praying for my health and others were praying that he stayed unwell so that they can grab the Shiv Sena and Chief Minister post. They broke my trust,” he added.
Thackeray commenting on the rebellion Sena MLAs act said that these rebels are like rotten leaves of a tree. "After sucking the mother tree, these rotten leaves left the tree. Once these rotten and discarded leaves are gone, the tree looks bare and people call it the end of tree life. But after a few days, the same tree gets fresh leaves. Like that, Sena will emerge with new leadership. Shiv Sainik has the power to make ordinary people extraordinary and extraordinary into common people," Thackeray said.
He added, "After this revolt, many senior Sena leaders who worked with Balasaheb Thackeray are coming to meet him and giving blessings for their stand."
"I wanted to question those who are now screaming over Hindutva. In 2014, when BJP broke an alliance with Shiv Sena, did we leave Hindutva? No, we didn't," he said.
Thackeray without naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said, "After Godra, everyone was against him, but Balasaheb Thackeray stood with him only because of Hindutva ideology and the same person wants to finish the Shiv Sena with the help of rebelled Shiv Sena MLAs."
"What should we call it," Thackeray questioned. He said they want to steal his Shiv Sena and his father’s legacy as well. "They have betrayed me, split the party. The (rebels) should take the blessings of their own parents and campaign, give speeches and seek votes. Why are they stealing my father? You have no dedication, no sense of duty, no courage? You are a traitor," he said.
"I dare them to try and separate Thackeray and Shiv Sena. If they claim they are right by breaking Shiv Sena, then let’s face the fresh elections, let’s go to the public court where their decision will be final. If people reject us, then we are ready to sit at home as well," he said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that they were called rotten leaves of the tree, but these same leaves formed the government. While deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that it was a fixed interview so he will not comment much on the fixed match.