"Had you tried to understand the issues of Marathi Manoos and helped them, this situation would not have arisen," Shinde said. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde Monday blamed Uddhav Thackeray for exploiting the Marathi speaking people of Mumbai and the declining Marathi population in the city.
“If you (Thackeray-led Shiv Sena) care so much for Mumbai then I challenge you to publish the statistics of how many Marathi people are left in Mumbai. For many years they (Thackeray-led Sena) kept seeking votes in the name of Marathi people. You should answer why the Marathi Manoos has been thrown out from Mumbai to the outskirts like Virar, Badlapur and Vangani. You should also publish an analysis about why this happened through the Rokthok (a weekly column of Sena mouthpiece Saamana),” said Shinde in a rally in Paithan, the constituency of minister Sandipan Bhumare.
He said the Shiv Sena only takes up the issue of Marathi Manoos ahead of elections and creates fear that Mumbai will be separated from Maharashtra, but forgets this after the elections.
“They only remember the Marathi Manoos ahead of elections but after elections are over, they forget it. They ignore why the Marathi Manoos is facing issues and why they are leaving Mumbai. Had you tried to understand the plight of Marathi Manoos and helped them, this situation would not have arisen,” Shinde said.
He also slammed the Opposition saying it is unable to digest the work being done by the state government. “They are not able to digest that a farmer’s son has become Chief Minister and are criticising us every now and then,” Shinde said.