Eknath Shinde attacks Uddhav Thackeray's son Aaditya, says 'he should know his age and speak accordingly'

New Delhi: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has hit out at Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray's son Aaditya and said that he should "know his age" and "speak accordingly". Aaditya, a former minister, has attacked Shinde on several occasions for his rebellion with 39 MLAs of Shiv Sena that led to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government in June. Uddhav and Aaditya have also been calling the Shiv Sena rebels "traitors and backstabbers".

"He should know his age and speak accordingly. What we are today is because of the late Balasaheb Thackeray and his school of thought. But he and others drifted away from Balasaheb's thought for power which forced us to take this strong step (to rebel)," Shinde told a Marathi news channel when asked about Aaditya hurling "traitor" barb against the rebel MLAs.

Taking a cue from Shinde, his cabinet colleague Gulabrao Patil also questioned Aaditya's stature.

"I became active in Shiv Sena when Aaditya was in a swaddle. He is just 32 now. What right does he have to criticise us? Who is he?" Patil asked.

"He can be the heir to the property of late Balasaheb or of Uddhav Thackeray but he cannot claim the (party's) legacy. We carried the saffron flag on our shoulders for 35 years, but now they are criticising us," he said without taking Aaditya's name.

'Real' Shiv Sena belongs to Eknath Shinde: Ramdas Athawale 

Amid the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the rebel faction headed by Eknath Shinde seeking the Shivaji Park ground in Mumbai as the venue for the annual Dussehra rally of the party, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday said that the "real" Shiv Sena is the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister.

He also said that only Shinde's Sena has the "moral right" to hold the party's annual Dussehra rally.

Mumbai's civic body has said it has received applications from the Thackeray and Shinde-led factions of the Shiv Sena to "book" the sprawling Shivaji Park for the party's Dussehra rally in October. The rally, arguably the most important event in the Shiv Sena's political calendar, has been taking place at Shivaji Park for several decades, but has two claimants this time due to a split in the Sena following a rebellion by Shinde in June. 

Shivaji Park in central Mumbai is also closely associated with the evolution and growth of the Shiv Sena, which was founded by Bal Thackeray. 

"According to me, since the real Shiv Sena belongs to Eknath Shinde, he has the moral right to hold the Dussehra 'melava' (rally) at Shivaji Park. That moral right has slipped from the hands of (Sena president) Uddhav Thackeray," the central minister said. 

Ramdas Athawale also advised Thackeray to hold his faction's rally at BKC, a business district in suburban Bandra.

"The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will support the Shinde faction and give permission to them to hold the congregation (in Shivaji Park)," he said. 

(With agency inputs)