The video of a man trying to obstruct Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde’s convoy and calling him ‘gaddar’ (traitor) for splitting the Shiv Sena and siding with BJP for power, has gone viral in social media, creating buzz in political circles, a week before the assembly elections.
The video is from Mumbai’s Sakinaka area, where the young man, Santosh Katke, sought to disrupt Shinde's convoy by waving black flags and called Shinde “gaddar”, prompting Shinde to halt his convoy and step out.
The incident, which took place outside Congress candidate and former minister Naseem Khan's office, was captured on video.
Shinde rushed into Khan’s office, questioning party workers about the incident and asked whether they condoned such behaviour.
Katke was detained by security personnel and handed over to the police, who let him go after a while, an official said.
On Tuesday, Katke and his father joined the Shiv Sena (UBT) at Matoshree and were felicitated by Uddhav Thackeray.
Santosh Katke told reporters that his pent up anger exploded on seeing Shinde, prompting him to utter those words.
In June last year, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) workers observed "gaddar din" (traitor's day) to mark the first anniversary of the rebellion by Shinde and other Shiv Sena legislators.
The rebellion in June 2022 led by Eknath Shinde culminated in the collapse of the then Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, comprising the united Sena and NCP and the Congress.
In May this year, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi’s ‘Mera Baap Gaddar Hai’ remark targeting Shinde and his MP son Shrikant ignited a row.
“Who are you Eknath Shinde? What are you? You are nothing but a ‘gaddar’ (traitor),” Chaturvedi had said, referring to the split in the undivided Shiv Sena in June 2022.
Chaturvedi had continued, “Whatever you do, you cannot escape the ‘gaddar’ taint. It will haunt even your family, as in the film ‘Deewar’.”
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