Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde strongly criticized Uddhav Thackeray, leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), for repeatedly challenging him and his faction. Speaking at the party’s 59th Foundation Day event at NSCI Dome in Worli, Shinde launched a veiled attack on Thackeray. Referring to a recent speech by Thackeray, he said, “Someone told me that he (Uddhav) said, ‘Come on, kill me.’ But why kill someone who is already politically dead? The people of Maharashtra already defeated you in the Assembly elections.”

Shinde emphasised that his party would never compromise on the principles of Hindutva and Marathi identity. “Hindutva is our soul, and Marathi is our breath,” he said in Marathi: ‘Hindutva amcha aatma aani Marathi swaas aahe’. He added that with elections approaching, some leaders have suddenly begun talking about Marathi and Hindutva again.

Taking a swipe at Uddhav for criticising the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Shinde remarked that the late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray had always distanced himself from the Congress, unlike his son. “Those who chant the Hanuman Chalisa are jailed, and the RSS is criticised. Yet they claim they haven’t abandoned Hindutva,” he said.