"I haven't seen a Chief Minister who threatens so much," Devendra Fadnavis said about Uddhav Thackeray.
Highlights
- Kangana Ranaut, Arnab Goswami cases Uddhav Thackeray's failure, he said
- Devendra Fadnavis also singled out Mr Thackeray for his alleged "threats"
- Sena and BJP contested Maharashtra elections together, but fell out later
Bitter criticism by two courts of the mishandling of the Kangana Ranaut and Arnab Goswami cases summed up the Uddhav Thackeray regime's failure in the state in the past year, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said today.
"Uddhav Thackeray's one year is summed up by two decisions of the court...the court gave a nice earful...Supreme Court gave a hard-hitting decision. It looks like the government machinery is being misused," Mr Fadnavis said at Mumbai at a press meet today.
He was referring to the setback suffered by the state government in two cases involving the Bollywood actor and the news anchor - the courts slammed the Maharashtra government for its perceived rough handling of the issues.
"We are not in line with Arnab Goswami or Kanagna Ranaut all the time. But the way government treated them, we don't stand by it at all," Mr Fadnavis said at the meet to mark the completion of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi's (Maharashtra Development Front) first year.
The former chief minister also singled out Mr Thackeray for his alleged "threats".
"I haven't seen a Chief Minister who threatens so much. His statements do not suit the Chief Minister's chair...He should realise that no one remains after speaking this type of language," Mr Fadnavis said.
He was referring to Mr Thackeray's interview to Shiva Sena mouthpiece Saamna, published on Friday, in which he slammed the BJP without naming it for allegedly targeting his son, Aaditya Thackeray, in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.
"If you come after families and children, then remember you have families and children too. You are not clean. We know how to set you straight, roast you," the Chief Minister said.
The Shiv Sena and the BJP contested the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections together, but the alliance fell apart over the sharing of the Chief Ministerial post. The Shiv Sena, which won 56 seats, then joined hands with the NCP and the Congress to form the government.