Seven leaders of Uddhav Thackeray faction booked for 'offensive' remarks against Maha CM Shinde

Leaders of Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena mocked CM Shinde, saying "all he does is read out Modi-Shah Chalisa," and referred to the Shinde-led rebel faction as a "duplicate Shiv Sena."  

The Thane police have filed a case against seven Shiv Sena leaders from the Uddhav Thackeray faction for mimicking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and Union Minister Narayan Rane at the Dussehra rally on October 9. The case was filed at Thane's Naupada police station under sections 153, 500, and 504 of the Indian Penal Code.

During the rally, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena, now known as 'Shiv Sena, Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray,' not only imitated PM Modi and other dignitaries but also mocked the chief minister's BJP-backed Dussehra rally.

The leaders of Uddhav Thackeray mocked CM Shinde, saying "all he does is read out Modi-Shah Chalisa," and dubbed the Shinde-led rebel faction a "duplicate Shiv Sena."

Shiv Sena's two factions, one led by former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the other rebel group led by Eknath Shinde, held massive Dussehra rallies to demonstrate their strength and unity. While Thackeray spoke at Shivaji Park in the Dadar area, Shinde spoke at the BKC.

Shinde has 39 Shiv Sena MLAs and 12 MPs on his side, and ten independents. "The BJP wrote the screenplay. It (the BJP) wrote the gist of the main speech, dialogues, and characters," the party stated.

This is not the first time a Shiv Sena leader has imitated Prime Minister Modi. In December 2021, the party's Bhaskar Jadhav imitated Prime Minister Modi and later apologised after the Opposition strongly objected.

Jhadav, in an apparent dig at PM Modi, repeated what he said during the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign about bringing back black money stashed in foreign banks during a parliament session.