Gang war going on in Maharashtra, CM leading it: Aaditya Thackeray

There is a 'gang war' underway in Maharashtra and chief minister Eknath Shinde is leading it, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said on Sunday, in reference to the Thane firing incident involving a BJP MLA and a Shiv Sena leader.

Kalyan East MLA Ganpat Gaikwad fired at and injured Mahesh Gaikwad of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena inside Hill Line police station in Ulhasnagar late on Friday night. Before being arrested, the Kalyan East MLA accused Shinde of encouraging criminalisation in the state.

"Ganpat Gaikwad was allegedly trying to grab land, which local women opposed. He shot at Mahesh Gaikwad who was supporting these women. Ganpat Gaikwad has himself said CM Shinde made him a criminal," Thackeray claimed.

"There is a gang war going on in Maharashtra and CM Shinde is its leader. Shinde carries the tag of betrayer and he must deep clean it (a jibe at the deep-cleaning drive of the state government in urban areas including Mumbai)," the Worli MLA said.

Speaking on other issues, Thackeray said he would oppose any plan to utilise Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) funds to build an underground parking facility at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse, where the civic body wants to create a park.

"I will oppose usage of BMC funds for the underground parking space. Racecourse members are wealthy, they can fund the parking facility. Anyway a parking lot is coming up as part of the coastal road, so why is a second one needed?" he asked.

Thackeray also claimed the coastal road was not complete and just 10 km of the stretch had been built. "But Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate it (first phase from Worli to Marine Drive) on 19 February. Is it to snatch credit from us, since we had envisaged the project and followed up on it?" Thackeray questioned.

"The coastal road should have been completed in December itself, but the work is still on a slow track. BMC commissioner I.S. Chahal wants to become chief secretary, so he is putting out wrong information about the project," he alleged.

In a post on X, he further wrote, "The Coastal Road was first formally proposed by Uddhav Thackeray ji in July 2013, after which we started pursuing the centre and state govts for permissions. We started off the work in 2017-18 and till our Govt was toppled by a bunch of cowards in 2022, we had crossed 65% work. We held weekly reviews and monthly visits, unlike the current regime."