CM Shinde justifies his son's LS seat candidature after Uddhav's criticism

Hitting back at Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray over his statements on dynasty politics Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday justified his sons candidature saying that it was the requirement of the party in that periodThackeray had asked people to end dynasty politics while addressing gatherings on his tour of Kalyan Lok Sabha seat which is represented by Shindes son Shrikant Shinde on Saturday Thackeray had also said giving Shindes son a ticket was a mistakeJustifying his sons candidature Shinde said It was the requirement of the party in that period The party was seeking a welleducated and young face to be fielded in the Lok Sabha election It gave ticket to Shrikant and we won Our partys tally increasedShinde said while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was taking the country ahead rapidly Thackerays chief ministership between late 2019 and June 2022 had taken Maharashtra back by more than 10 years newswire PTI reportedThats why we toppled his government It is unfortunate several infrastructure projects were stopped only to satisfy ones ego he claimedShinde said Thackerays allegations dont carry any value as the latter gets critical of institutions when a decision goes against himMeanwhile as senior Congress leader Milind Deora resigned just before the start of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra the party on Sunday alleged that the timing of the announcement of his departure from the party was determined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for headline management to counter the yatra and asserted that it will have no impactAlso read Mumbai Milind Deora resigns from primary membership of Congress partyCongress general secretary Jairam Ramesh told PTI that one Milind Deora goes away but lakhs of Milinds who believe in our organisation and ideology stayRamesh said Deora had spoken with him over phone this Friday and requested that he wanted to speak with Rahul Gandhi over his concerns over the Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena UBT laying claim to the South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat Both Milind Deora and his father Murli Deora had served as MPs from Mumbai SouthHe messaged me on Friday at 852 AM and then at 247 PM I replied Are you planning a switch At 248 he sent a message is speaking to you not possible I said I will call you and at 340 I spoke to him Ramesh saidHe Deora said he is concerned that it is a sitting Shiv Sena seat he wanted to meet Rahul Gandhi and explain to him about the seat and also wanted me to talk to Mr Gandhi about it the Congress general secretary saidObviously all this was a farce and he had made up his mind to leave The timing of the announcement of his departure was clearly determined by the PM Ramesh allegedPointing out at the timing of the announcement by Deora Ramesh alleged that it has been decided by the PM and Deora was just a puppetThe Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is in all newspapers TV everywhere So PM is a guru of headline management and has given a headline Milind Deora leaves Congress but this will have no impact Ramesh told PTIOne Milind Deora goes away lakhs of Milinds who believe in our organisation and ideology stay Whether they get ticket or not it does nor matter they get disappointed for a few hours and then again get back to working for the party PM has made Milind Deoras going a headline but this will have no impact on our organisation he assertedOn his exchange with Deora a couple of days ago Ramesh also said that Deora was playing a game with himHe spoke with me two days ago I used to speak with him he was a good friend of mine once upon a time the Congress general secretary saidIn a post on X Ramesh recalled his long years of association with seventime Congress MP Murli Deora with great fondnessHe Murli Deora had close friends in all political parties but was a stalwart Congressman who ALWAYS stood by the Congress party through thick and thin Tathastu he saidFormer Union minister Deora on Sunday said he had resigned from the primary membership of the partyIn a post on social media platform X the former South Mumbai Lok Sabha MP said Today marks the conclusion of a significant chapter in my political journey I have tendered my resignation from the primary membership of the Congress ending my familys 55 year relationship with the party I am grateful to all leaders colleagues and karyakartas for their unwavering support over the yearsDeora who was recently appointed the joint treasurer of the All India Congress Committee had expressed disapproval at the Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena UBT laying claim to the South Mumbai Lok Sabha seat With inputs from agencies