Shinde cried, said will be jailed if he didn't join BJP: Aaditya; CM discards 'young man' claim
Mumbai, Apr 13: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has claimed Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, before revolting against the party leadership in June 2022, had visited his residence and cried, saying he will be arrested by a central agency if he did not switch over to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
A day after Aaditya Thackeray's statement, Shinde on Thursday sought to discard the claim and make light of it, saying the 32-year-old former cabinet minister is "still young".
MLA Santosh Bangar from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena denied Thackeray's claim and said there was no threat by the BJP, which is part of the current government in the state.
The reason behind the "revolt" against the Thackerays was their alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress, Bangar said.
Union minister Ramdas Athawale, a BJP ally, too, waded into the controversy and maintained the allegations against Shinde were false and the latter was a strong man who would never cry.
Speaking during an interaction at a university in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, Aaditya Thackeray alleged 40 MLAs rebelled against the Sena leadership for their own Assembly seats and "money".
"The current chief minister (Shinde) came to our house and cried because he was going to be arrested by a central agency, and he said 'I will have to hop over to the BJP otherwise they will arrest me'," the son of former CM Uddhav Thackeray claimed.
"It was his good luck that they (the BJP) wanted to show this guy is the true Sena and we (BJP) will make him the CM," the MLA from Worli in central Mumbai said.
Defending his party's alliance with the Congress, Aaditya Thackeray said he has learnt a little more about his grandfather than what the "BJP's WhatsApp university" is teaching.
"My grandfather (Sena founder Bal Thackeray) had tie-ups with the Congress before. He had better relations with the Gandhi family earlier also. He had supported Pranab Mukherjee and Pratibha Patil (during election for President) openly when the BJP was putting up another candidate (for the post)," he said.
On the other hand, the BJP formed an alliance with the People's Democratic Party (PDP - founded by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed) which "supported terrorists", said Aaditya Thackeray, referring to the two parties joining hands to form a government in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir (2015-18).
Speaking at Mumbai Tak conclave on Thursday, Aaditya Thackeray said when he was in Davos on May 20 2022, then-CM Uddhav Thackeray summoned Shinde, his cabinet colleague, to 'Varsha', the official residence of the chief minister in south Mumbai, and asked him whether he wants to become the chief minister.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said Aaditya Thackeray's claims were true.
The Rajya Sabha member said Shinde had even come to his residence in the Bhandup area of Mumbai and made similar pleas and that he did not want to go to jail.
Raut said he told Shinde not to get scared and that they should "stand up against injustice".
There were many Sena MLAs (among those who revolted) against whom probes were on by central agencies, he said.
"A similar thing is happening against the NCP now," Raut claimed.
However, Shiv Sena MLA Bangar rejected Aaditya Thackeray's claims and said the fundamental reason behind the revolt against the Thackerays was their alliance with the NCP and the Congress.
"All MLAs backed Eknath Shinde in this revolt. There was no threat (of central agencies) from the BJP," Bangar said.
Meanwhile, talking to reporters in Thane, Naresh Mhaske, a Shiv Sena spokesman, claimed when rebel MLAs were camping in Guwahati following their rebellion in June 2022, then-CM Uddhav Thackeray made distress calls to Shinde, asking him to save his post.
Replying to a question, Mhaske said, "Chief Minister Shinde represents the common man. He cares for each and every citizen in the state and considers everyone equal."
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Flagrant injustice to underprivileged: Mehbooba on govt action against Shopian school
Srinagar (PTI): PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said declaring Dar Ul Uloom Jamia Siraj Ul Uloom in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian an unlawful entity under the UAPA was a "flagrant injustice" to the underprivileged sections of society.
She also alleged that banning such "altruistic institutions" without any solid evidence of anti-national activity "shows a deep seated prejudice and ill intention".
The institution allegedly run by individuals affiliated with a banned organisation has been declared an "unlawful entity" under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
In a post on X, Mehbooba said, "Every single day the j&k government acts as a mute bystander & a timid enabler of vicious assaults on J&Ks identity & dignity. Declaring Dar Ul Uloom Jamia Siraj Ul Uloom as an unlawful entity under UAPA is a flagrant injustice to the poor underprivileged sections of society".
The former chief minister said the institution served as a "beacon of quality education" for students unable to afford expensive schooling.
"It has produced reputed doctors and professionals who served this nation with dedication. Banning these altruistic institutions without any solid evidence of anti national activity shows a deep seated prejudice & ill intention," she added.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Anshul Garg issued a two-page order based on the dossier presented by Senior Superintendent of Police Shopian pointing towards the alleged illegal activities at Darul Uloom Jamia Sirajul Uloom at Imam Sahib in Shopian district in south Kashmir.
According to the order issued by Garg on April 24, there were "credible inputs and evidence on record, to indicate sustained and covert linkages of the institution with Jamaat-e-Islami, which the Government of India banned in 2019.
