'Reaction to action': Shinde on MNS targeting Uddhav’s convoy

Thane: The attack on the convoy of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray in Thane was a “reaction to action”, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the rival Shiv Sena, has said.

When Thackeray arrived for a gathering of his party workers at the Gadkari Rangayatan auditorium here on Saturday, workers of the Raj Thackeray-headed Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) staged a protest and hurled tomatoes and cow dung at his convoy.

Responding to a question about the incident, Shinde said on Saturday night, “Who started it? Sena (UBT) activists targeted Raj Thackeray’s convoy in Aurangabad. This was just a reaction to the action.”

Those who abandoned the thoughts of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray and Anand Dighe, Shinde’s mentor and popular Sena leader from Thane, will have to face such situations, he said.

Referring to his revolt in the undivided Shiv Sena, which split the party, Shinde said, “We took the decision (to break away) only to save the party and (its symbol) ‘bow and arrow’.”

On Friday, Sena (UBT) supporters had thrown ‘supari’ or betel nuts at the convoy of Raj Thackeray, Uddhav's estranged cousin, in Beed city.