I was betrayed by my own: Maharashtra CM Thackeray tells cabinet colleagues

Chairing a cabinet meeting even as his government faces a serious crisis, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray said his own people betrayed him. 

Chairing a cabinet meeting even as his government faces a serious crisis, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday evening said his own people betrayed him. 

Thackeray chaired a cabinet meeting in Mumbai while the hearing on his government's petition challenging the governor's directive to conduct a floor test to prove majority was underway. 

An official said that Thackeray told his cabinet colleagues that his own people had betrayed him. "I also apologize if I have hurt anyone unintentionally," the official quoted Thackeray. 

The ministers clapped after the chief minister addressed the meeting, he added. The fate of the Thackeray government hangs in the balance as senior minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde has rebelled against the party leadership and the majority of Sena legislators. 

The official also said the chief minister did not say anything or hint that he was planning to quit before a possible trust vote on Thursday.

"He thanked the cabinet for their cooperation, and said the cooperation would continue, " Congress minister Sunil Kedar told reporters. 

To a question about whether the MVA government would survive the rebellion by Eknath Shinde, Kedar said, "Every MLA in the house would vote as per his conscience, considering the manner in which Thackeray has led the state's battle against COVID-19."

"Uddhav Thackeray will not stop nor he be defeated, " the Congress leader said. 

Kedar appealed to people to consider that a conspiracy was hatched against Thackeray, who led the state efficiently during the pandemic and also resumed his official duties soon after undergoing critical spine surgery. 

The cabinet's major decision on Wednesday was renaming Aurangabad city as Sambhajinagar.

(With inputs from PTI)