At a ceremony in Delhi on Wednesday, the Shiv Sena (UBT) strongly condemned its ally and NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar for congratulating Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
According to Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut, congratulating Shinde was equivalent to honoring the BJP leader because it was Shinde who, with Amit Shah's assistance, split the Shiv Sena. On the occasion of the 98th Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, Shinde was presented with the Mahadji Shinde Rashtra Gaurav Puraskar by Pawar on Tuesday, alongside Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Pawar is in charge of the literary meet's welcoming committee, which will begin next week. According to Raut, Pawar shouldn't have gone since Shinde used "betrayal" to overthrow the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government led by Uddhav Thackeray in Maharashtra in 2022.
"In politics, some things should be avoided. Sharad Pawar congratulated Amit Shah yesterday but did not congratulate Shinde. Speaking to reporters in Delhi, the Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member stated, "This is how we feel."
"It is a shock to Maharashtra's pride to bestow such an honor upon someone we view as an adversary. Although Pawar may have had a different perspective, Raut stated that the people of Maharashtra did not approve of such politics.
"We regard you as a senior politician, Sharad Pawar. However, you are honoring those who, with Amit Shah's assistance, separated Balasaheb Thackeray's Shiv Sena and undermined Maharashtra. The Marathi people's feelings have been wounded by this," he stated.
"We don't understand your Delhi politics, but we too understand politics," Raut continued. NCP (SP) MP Amol Kolhe responded that Raut might be expressing his own views when asked for a response. He noted that the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan was the event that took place in the nation's capital.
"He demonstrated statesmanship, which is the ability to avoid bringing politics into every situation. Nothing is wrong with that, in my opinion. He is the event's (the reception committee's) president," Kolhe continued.
