MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said those harassing his party will face consequences when it returns to power, while Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde who heads a rival faction accused him of "burying" the Hindutva ideology.
The two Shiv Senas held their separate Dussehra rallies in the city on Tuesday evening.
Speaking at Shivaji Park, the traditional venue of the party's Dussehra rally, Thackeray also batted for coalition governments. Attempts were being made to "steal" the Shiv Sena, he said.
"After we come to power, we will hang upside down those who are harassing us," Uddhav said.
Targeting the BJP, his friend-turned-foe, Thackeray said there should be a strong government, but not of "any one party with a brute majority."
Uddhav said the parties who used to target the BJP by questioning the timeline for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya are feeling embarrassed now. "They have lost their face. How will they go to Ayodhya now?" he asked.
Speaking at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, Shinde slammed Thackeray for forming an alliance with Congress and the Samajwadi Party while "burying Hindutva thoughts" of late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray.
"At one time Uddhav's father Bal Thackeray gave the slogan 'Garvase kaho hum Hindu hai' (say with pride we are Hindu), but now the new slogans being shouted at Shivaji Park are 'Garvase kaho hum Congressi hai, Garvase kaho hum Samajwadi hai'," Shinde claimed.
Shinde said he won't be surprised if they (Shiv Sena-UBT) ally with Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM and even "hug terrorist organisations such as Hamas, Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Toiba for their selfish motives and chair (power)".
The Shinde faction had applied for permission for a Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park this year, but later withdrew the application. Shinde later announced that the annual Dussehra rally will be organised at Azad Maidan instead of Shivaji Park.
This cleared the path for the Uddhav-led Shiv Sena to hold the annual rally at Shivaji Park.
Shiv Sena (Shinde group) and Shiv Sena (UBT), last year, locked horns over organising the annual Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park, where the party has been holding the rally since 1966, indicating the significance of this venue for both of them.
However, the Bombay High Court had ruled in favour of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and allowed the Uddhav Thackeray faction to hold the Dussehra rally at Shivaji Park.
This came after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) refused to give permission to the two factions to hold the rally, based on the local police report, which said that the event may cause law and order issues in the area.
The event is significant as Sena is now divided into two factions and the rally was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)