Uddhav Thackeray targets CM Eknath Shinde over his poll campaign in Telangana amid crop losses in Maharashtra

Uddhav Thackeray. File Pic

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday hit out at Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over his visit to neighbouring Telangana for poll campaigning amid losses faced by farmers in his home state due to unseasonal rains, reported news agency PTI.

Addressing a news conference, Uddhav Thackeray demanded that a cabinet meeting be held immediately to discuss the issue and farmers be given assistance at the earliest, reported PTI.

He said six people have lost their lives due to unseasonal rains in the state, while 100 cattle have also perished, reported PTI.

Grape and onion cultivators in Maharashtra have also been affected by the unseasonal rains, the former chief minister said, reported PTI.

"When the MeT department had alerted about unseasonal rains in advance, what did the state cabinet do?" he asked.

Thackeray said a preliminary information he has received suggests that nearly 1 lakh hectare of land under cultivation in Marathwada, Vidarbha and north Maharashtra was affected due to unseasonal rains since last three-four days, reported PTI.

"There is no government in Maharashtra as everyone is busy in campaigning. It is time to change the government," Thackeray said, reported PTI.

"A person who does not bother about his own house (state) and goes to another state to campaign for another party is not fit to run the government and he has no right to be in power," the Sena (UBT) leader claimed, reported PTI.

Shinde visited Telangana on Tuesday to campaign for the BJP. The assembly polls in Telangana are scheduled on November 30, reported PTI.

The Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the BJP are allies in Maharashtra, reported PTI.

"The chief minister who cannot handle his own house and is peeping into homes of others cannot give justice to the state," Thackeray said, reported PTI.

Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar are also "missing in action", he claimed, reported PTI.

Thackeray also targeted the ruling BJP saying while it is busy distributing "revdis" (doles) in other states, what has it done for Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, a day after Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar described Mahatma Gandhi as the 'mahapurush' and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the 'yugpurush', Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said history and the people decide these aspects.

Talking to reporters on Tuesday, Raut said Mahatma Gandhi was revered by the world.

"History, people decide who is a purush, yugpurush and a mahapurush," Raut said.

(With inputs from PTI)