Escalating the ongoing war of words, Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray back-stabbed his party, and it can only be described as a betrayal. The attack comes days after Thackeray termed Fadnavis as 'tainted' during his Nagpur public rally. “In 2019, Uddhav Thackeray back-stabbed us. You used photos of Modi ji (during campaign) and later joined hands with Congress and NCP,” Fadnavis said. He was addressing Mahavijay 2024, a programme organised in Bhiwandi by BJP state unit, which has set a target of 152 seats in the next Assembly polls. “Amitji told me that in politics, one can bear 10 insults, but not accept betrayal. If one does, he will not survive in politics,” he added. Drawing examples from 'samudra manthan' and Lord Krishna’s kootniti (diplomacy) in Mahabharata, Fadnavis supported his party’s recent political actions, wherein he said it was necessary to swallow bitter pills to meet important goals. Responding to allegations against him of breaking parties and families, the Dy CM said he was acting as per ‘dharma’ not ‘adharma'. “In this samudra manthan (which produced both poison and nectar), faith and patience are required,” he told party workers. Fadnavis cited stories of Lord Krishna’s actions which led to the end of Duryodhana, Dronacharya and Ashwathama. “Whenever there is betrayal, one must act with diplomacy,” he said. “Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar are not new entrants in politics. They joined us after giving it serious thought. Whenever there is injustice, Eknath Shinde will born,” he said, adding that the alliance with Shinde’s Sena is an emotional one, while the one with NCP is political. Fadnavis said he was not comparing any present-day individual with historical evil-doers, but was giving examples to enable better understanding in view of present day challenges. Commenting on the Opposition front against PM Narendra Modi, Fadnavis said BJP’s doors are open to all except Congress and those involved in appeasement politics. Earlier, the BJP leader had said that in 2019, “when talks of alliance were in the final stage, Uddhav told me he had equested Amitbhai (Shah) for the CM post. But Amit Shah refused to compromise on the CM’s post, and asked me to end all talks if he (Thackeray) did not agree to it. And so the discussion ended. A few days later, a mediator approached me saying Thackeray has dropped the CM post idea and instead wanted a Palghar LS seat, which the party agreed to.” Fadnavis disclosed that after the Shah–Thackeray meeting in 2019, the latter had “asked me to make amends on his behalf as he had previously spoken sharply against BJP. And I did so. But when the election results were not as desired, Uddhav Thackeray said he had other options open to him,” he said.
