Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi drew the ire of Mahayuti bloc on Thursday over her "mera baap gaddar hai (my father is a traitor)" remarks against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's son and MP Shrikant Shinde. Chaturvedi's comments came during a poll rally for Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate for Mumbai North East seat Sanjay Dina Patil in Ghatkopar on Wednesday.
The rally, which was attended by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Nitin Bangude Patil, saw Chaturvedi making bold comments against Shrinkant Shinde. Her remarks have gone viral on social media.
What did Chaturvedi say?
In a bid to compare Shinde's decision to breakaway from undivided Shiv Sena and join Mahayuti bloc with the BJP, Chaturvedi used a dialogue from 1975 Amitabh Bachchan-starrer film 'Deewar'.
Addressing the rally, she said, "You must remember the movie 'Deewar'. Amitabh Bachchan shows his hand which has 'mera baap chor hai (my father is a thief)'. Similarly, 'mera baad gaddar hai (my father is a traitor)'." She received applause from the public for the statement.
Mahayuti lashes out at Chaturvedi
However, the comments did not sit well with the Mahayuti bloc. Shinde Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam and BJP leader Nilesh Rane lashed out at Chaturvedi.
"A woman MP from the Shiv Sena (UBT) faction made a highly inappropriate comment about Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's son and Kalyan Lok Sabha candidate Shrikant Shinde. She said that 'My father is a traitor' is written on Shrikant's forehead. If she truly believes her statement word for word, then Aditya Thackeray's forehead should say 'My father is a great traitor,'" Nirupam wrote in a post on X. "Why? Because the betrayal was committed by his father when he broke the alliance with the BJP. The great betrayal was committed by his father when he abandoned Balasaheb's ideology and aligned with the very Congress he had opposed all his life. Why does the UBT remain silent on this great betrayal?"
Meanwhile, Rane also took to X disapprove Chaturvedi's comments.
"What nonsense is this... Is it appropriate to talk about someone's father from a public platform like this? What if some Mahayuti leaders had said the same thing about the Thackerays? Would it be okay if we spoke about her father like that?" Rane stated.
Shiv Sena (UBT) has not issued any statement against Chaturvedi's remarks.
