Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday wrote a letter to MLA Rajan Salvi thanking him for remaining loyal to the 'real Shiv Sena'. According to India Today report, Thackeray said that “I promise, with the support of loyalists like you, I’ll turn the intentions of Eknath Shinde and those who are backing him to dust.”
Further in the letter, Thackeray praised Salvi for “staying loyal during difficult times”. “With unwavering faith in the Shiv Sena's goal-oriented policies, you have borne the brunt of Eknath Shinde's rupture and have not begged or feared disqualification from the illegitimate government he has formed,” he wrote.
Uddhav Thackeray said that the intentions of Eknath Shinde and his supporters to weaken Shiv Sena will be thwarted with the support of loyal Shiv Sainiks like Salvi.
“You kept your loyalty to Shiv Sena in the face of adversity. Despite the pressure, you strongly supported the order given by the Shiv Sena party,” he wrote further.
As many as 40 Shiv Sena MLAs had moved to the Eknath Shinde camp last month before he took over the reins of Maharashtra as the Chief Minister with support from the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP. The remaining 15 MLAs of Shiv Sena are still loyal to Thackeray.
Meanwhile, Shinde today announced an assistance of Rs 3 lakh to the family of a Shiv Sainik who died after a heart attack near Uddhav Thackeray's residence last week.
The incident took place on July 6, when Sena functionary Bhagwan Kale (55) along with other party activists went to Thackeray's residence 'Matoshree' in Bandra area of Mumbai to declare their support to him.
Kale suffered a heart attack and died while being rushed to a hospital.
