On October 5, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and former CM Uddhav Thackeray got into a war of words during the Dussehra celebration. During a speech, Thackeray called Shinde ‘Katappa’ and said, “The only thing I feel bad and angry about is that when I was admitted to the hospital, the people whom I gave the responsibility (of the state) became ‘Katappa’ and betrayed us. They were cutting me and thinking that I will never return from hospital.”
Maharashtra | They call me ‘Katappa’. I want to tell you, that even ‘Katappa’ had self-respect, was not double standard like you: CM Eknath Shinde responds to Uddhav Thackeray’s comment pic.twitter.com/3erxU2RX9K
— ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2022
Replying to Thackeray, CM Shinde said, “They call me ‘Katappa’. I want to tell you, that even ‘Katappa’ had self-respect, was not double standard like you.”
कटप्पा म्हणून ही टीका केली गेली. कटप्पा तर हा स्वाभिमानी, प्रामाणिक होता. तुमच्यासारखा दुटप्पी नव्हता. #विचारांचेवारसदार
— Eknath Shinde – एकनाथ शिंदे (@mieknathshinde) October 5, 2022
Uddhav Thackrey attacked Shinde during his public address
In his address on Dussehra, Uddhav targeted Shinde for “betraying” him. He called the Shinde camp “parasites” and said, “They (the rebels) are parasites who have crept up the Shiv Sena tree. They should understand that without a tree, they have no worth. We are happy that these traitors have left us. Now, new leadership will emerge.”
He further said that Shinde was what he was because of him. He pointed out that Shinde’s son was also made Lok Sabha MP. He said, “People who come here love Sena and the Thackeray family.” Uddhav refused to accept the Shinde camp as ‘Shiv Sena’ and said, “They are parasites who have grown on the Shiv Sena tree. They should understand that without a tree, the parasite has no value. We are happy that these traitors have left us. Now, new leadership will emerge.”
He claimed that despite leaving BJP’s alliance, his party did not leave the Hindutva line. He said, “We left the BJP, not Hindutva. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat recently visited a mosque. Does that mean that RSS left Hindutva? The BJP has no authority to speak on Hindutva.”
Uddhav blamed Shinde for letting go of development projects from Maharashtra and shifting to Gujarat. He said, “We have no ill-will against Gujarat. However, our chief minister (Shinde) keeps visiting Delhi. In the last 100 days of this new government, Shinde might have gone to Delhi for 99 days. He has no authority…even hike mike was snatched by his deputy.”
Shinde hits back
Shinde addressed a huge crowd during Dussehra celebrations. Justifying the steps he took that brought BJP and Shiv Sena alliance back to power, he said, “What we did was in the interest of the state. This Shiv Sena is neither Uddhav Thackeray’s nor Eknath Shinde’s. This Shiv Sena belongs to Shiv Sainiks. This Shiv Sena is the ‘thoughts of Balasaheb’.”
आम्ही जे केलं ते राज्याच्या हितासाठी. ही शिवसेना ना उद्धव ठाकरेंची, ना एकनाथ शिंदेंची. ही शिवसेना शिवसैनिकांची. ही शिवसेना बाळासाहेबांच्या विचारांची. #विचारांचेवारसदार
— Eknath Shinde – एकनाथ शिंदे (@mieknathshinde) October 5, 2022
Targetting Uddhav he added that Balasaheb used to run the government by ‘remote control’ but Uddhav was running the government with the ‘remote control’ of Congress and NCP. He blamed Uddhav for ‘selling the thoughts of his father’ for power. He said, “Yes there is betrayal. But betrayal happened in 2019. Balasaheb’s thoughts were betrayed. The people were betrayed.”
बाळासाहेब रिमोट कंट्रोल ने सरकार चालवत होते. पण तुम्हीतर काँग्रेस राष्ट्रवादीच्या रिमोटने सरकार चालवत होतात. #विचारांचेवारसदार
— Eknath Shinde – एकनाथ शिंदे (@mieknathshinde) October 5, 2022
He further added, “Who is the real traitor? Who committed treason? We are not traitors, you are traitors. In the real sense, you betrayed the thoughts of Saheb.”
सत्तेसाठी तुम्ही वडिलांचे विचार विकले. होय गद्दारी झालेली आहे. पण गद्दारी ही २०१९ ला झाली. बाळासाहेबांच्या विचारांशी गद्दारी झाली. जनतेशी गद्दारी झाली. #विचारांचेवारसदार
— Eknath Shinde – एकनाथ शिंदे (@mieknathshinde) October 5, 2022
He pointed out that the crowd came to listen to him as they noticed the betrayal done by Uddhav. “They do not want to support the traitors,” he said.
तुमची गद्दारी जनतेला कळली, म्हणून तर एवढा जनसमुदाय इथे लोटला आहे. आता जनतेने ठरवलं आहे. गद्दारांना साथ द्यायची नाही. #विचारांचेवारसदार
— Eknath Shinde – एकनाथ शिंदे (@mieknathshinde) October 5, 2022
Shinde accused Uddhav of not only selling his father’s thoughts but ‘father himself’. He said, “You called us father-stealing gang. In reality, you sold your father’s thoughts. You tried to sell ‘father himself’.”
Furthermore, he targeted Uddhav for calling for a ban on RSS. He said, “The demand for a ban on RSS is ridiculous. The contribution of RSS in nation building is important.” Shinde also welcomed the decision to ban PFI.
आरएसएसवर बंदीची मागणी हास्यास्पद, आरएसएसचं राष्ट्रउभारणीत महत्वाचं योगदान. #विचारांचेवारसदार
— Eknath Shinde – एकनाथ शिंदे (@mieknathshinde) October 5, 2022
Shinde further targeted Uddhav by saying that his family members including Raj Thackeray left him and he needed to introspect why it happened.
जरा विचार करा: तुमचे बंधू राज ठाकरे तुमच्या सोबत राहिले नाहीत. नारायण राणे सोडून गेले. स्मिता ठाकरे वाहिनी, निहार ठाकरे इथेच बसलेत. का बसलेत? आता तरी याचा विचार करा. #विचारांचेवारसदार
— Eknath Shinde – एकनाथ शिंदे (@mieknathshinde) October 5, 2022
Shinde hit back at Thackeray for accusing him of letting development projects leave Maharashtra and said Vedanta-Foxxon left the state allegedly because a share was demanded from the company when Uddhav was in power.
Who is Katappa?
Katappa is a fictional character from the film series Baahubali who was a loyal servant to the royal family but eventually killed (read stabbed in the back) Amarendra Baahubali, the crown prince of Maahishmati. In the second part of the film Bahubali, Katappa joined hands with the son of Amarendra, Mahendra Baahubali and helped him to take revenge for the death of his father and got her mother released from the captivity of Bhallaaladeva, the serving king of Maahishmati.
