New Delhi: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday (February 26, 2023) attacked Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after it skipped the customary tea party on the eve of the Budget session of the state legislature. Opposition parties including the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the Congress also boycotted the tea party hosted by the Shinde government ahead of the budget session of the state legislature, which begins on Monday and will end on March 25. 


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"In a way, it was good that the opposition did not turn for the high tea when some of them have ties with terrorist Dawood Ibrahim," CM Shinde told reporters.


"Instead of calling our (Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party) alliance as anti-Maharashtra, will you not call such people anti-nationals? There are some people in the opposition parties who have had ties with Haseena Parkar, sister of Dawood Ibrahim," he added.



Shinde was apparently referring to former state minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik, who is currently in jail following his arrest last year in a money-laundering case linked to the activities of Dawood Ibrahim and his aides. 


The chief minister also took a dig at senior NCP leader and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar. 


"Ajit Pawar is saying that I changed my allegiance (from Uddhav Thackeray to the BJP), but he should not forget that I am still following what late Balasaheb Thackeray taught us. Even the Election Commission's decision to allot us the name Shiv Sena and symbol (of bow and arrow) proves it," he said.


"Unlike Pawar, who on one day took an oath with Devendra Fadnavis (in November 2019) and changed it again within a couple of days. You need not have to be wise to make any random allegations. Pawar is like a fish out of water. Since he is out of power, he is acting in this manner," Shinde added.


Eknath Shinde-Uddhav Thackeray feud to find echo in Maharashtra Budget session


The ongoing high-decibel political and legal battle between rival Shiv Sena groups led by Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray is set to resonate in the Maharashtra legislature as its Budget session begins on Monday.


The Shiv Sena led by CM Shinde, buoyed by an Election Commission (EC) ruling in its favour, and the Uddhav Thackeray faction are locked in a bitter feud to lay claim over the 56-year-old party and legacy of its founder Bal Thackeray.


Going by the legislative majority, the EC recently allotted the Shiv Sena name and the 'bow and arrow' poll symbol to the Shinde group while recognising the split in the party, which was rocked by a rebellion in June last year.


The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the NCP, Congress, and Shiv Sena (UBT), will seek to corner the Shinde-BJP government over issues of public interest during the nearly one-month-long session which is expected to be stormy.


The budget session will commence with newly-appointed Governor Ramesh Bais making his first address to the joint sitting of the state legislature.


Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the finance and planning portfolio, will present the first Budget of the Shinde-led government in the Assembly on March 9.