Shiv Sena protests against Sanjay Raut of Sena (UBT) for ‘insulting’ Eknath Shinde’s mentor

Mumbai, Sep 20 (PTI) Shiv Sena workers on Saturday protested here against Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut for “insulting” late party leader Anand Dighe, the mentor of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The protest was staged at Malad in north Mumbai.

Earlier, Raut had said that a newspaper advertisement published by the Shinde-led Shiv Sena wishing Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday featured a tiny picture of Sena founder Bal Thackeray, and next to him was a picture of Dighe, who was a district unit chief of the party.

During Saturday’s protest, Shiv Sena leader Sheetal Mhatre said that if Raut objects to Dighe’s photo being placed next to Bal Thackeray’s, then the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT) should explain how it allows the Sena founder’s photo to appear alongside Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi..

Bal Thackeray was known to be a trenchant critic of the Congress. After the split in the original Shiv Sena in 2022, Uddhav Sena (UBT) joined hands with the Congress and NCP (SP) under the banner of Maha Vikas Aghadi. Shinde subsequently got the party name and its symbol.

The protesting Shiv Sena workers also accused Raut of making disparaging remarks against Eknath Shinde and his son and MP Shrikant Shinde.

On several occasions, Deputy CM Shinde has called Dighe, a hugely popular leader of the undivided Shiv Sena in Thane district, his mentor and guide. PTI PR NR