Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde's dig at Uddhav Thackeray: 'We also broke a tough DAHI HANDI in June'

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis today attended the ‘Dahi Handi' festivities in Thane.

Mumbai: On the occasion of Janmashtami 2022, Maharashtra Chief Eknath Shinde on Friday took a dig at Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray saying they too broke a tough “Dahi Handi” a few days back while referring to the Krishna Janmashtami festivities across the state. Attending a Dahi Handi event in neighbouring Thane, his home turf, the Chief Minister also alluded to his rebellion against the Shiv Sena leadership in June and recalled that he and his associates broke a "tough Dahi Handi" one and a half months ago. 

They needed "fifty tiers", the Maharashtra CM said, referring to the number of MLAs who were with him. ‘Dahi Handi', part of the Krishna Janmashtami festivities, was celebrated with extra fervour across Maharashtra on Friday after the COVID-19 pandemic-induced hiatus of two years. 

Across the state, troupes of `Govindas' competed with each other to form human pyramids to break earthen pots (`handi') containing buttermilk and curd (`dahi') suspended high in the air. 

In Mumbai, where the festival is celebrated on a large scale, at least 78 Dahi Handi participants were injured while forming pyramids. Most of them were discharged after treatment while around a dozen were hospitalized, civic officials said.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis was present along with Shinde at the Dahi Handi events in Mumbai. The state government had last month announced that there would be no restrictions on the celebration of religious festivals, including Dahi Handi and Ganesh Chaturthi, this year. 

In the last two years, the celebrations were hampered due to the COVID-19-related restrictions. On Thursday, Shinde informed the state Legislative Assembly that the government has decided to accord adventure sport status to Dahi Handi. 

The adventure sport tag will allow young participants at these events to apply for government jobs under the sports quota. Participants or their families will also be provided compensation if the participants suffer injuries while forming human pyramids, the chief minister had said. Government hospitals had been instructed to treat injured Govindas free of cost.