Hours after Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray stepped down as the chief minister of Maharashtra, Sena MLA and his son, Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday, 30 June spoke to NDTV, lamenting the factionalism in the party.
"To be betrayed by your own people is sad. These people have taken advantage of my father," Aaditya Thackeray told the news channel.
Uddhav Thackeray's resignation comes amidst political turmoil in Maharashtra that has altered the fate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance.
After nearly 40 Sena MLAs, led by Eknath Shinde, breaking away from MVA administration, the Bharatiya Janata Party is now the single largest party in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
He added that he was aware of people with "monster ambitions," but it was "impossible to imagine" that people betray their own party.
"This is not rebellion, but treachery," he added, saying that "my father, grandfather and his father all believed that power and money come, go and come again... that is beyond one's control, but one should never lose one's reputation and respect. So, we are here to serve and we will see how things go," NDTV quoted.
'Sad News' Say Rebels, BJP Eyes Takeover
After the resignation, rebel Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar, speaking on behalf of the Eknath Shinde camp, said that the news of Thackeray's resignation was a sad one for them.
Kesarkar said, "This is a sad news for us. Along with the NCP and the Congress, Sanjay Raut is responsible for this. His comments widened the divide between the Centre and the state and Maharashtra had to suffer for it," he told ABP Majha.
Meanwhile, the mood at the BJP office in Mumbai was celebratory following Thackeray's resignation with chants in support of former CM Devendra Fadnavis.
After maintaining that the BJP had nothing to do with the crisis and had not contacted rebel leader Eknath Shinde at any point, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil on Wednesday said that the rebel Sena leaders should return to Mumbai only on the "day of oath-taking."
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