After Shinde\'s jibe at Uddhav, Raut says Maharashtra CM is Hamas

Mumbai: The war of words between the two factions of Shiv Sena has intensified further with the Uddhav Sena dubbing Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde as ‘Hamas.’ The riposte was in response to Shinde’s criticism in his Dussehra speech saying he won’t be surprised if Uddhav Thackeray hugs Hamas for power.

Taking a jibe at Shinde, Raut on Wednesday said, "He (Eknath Shinde) himself is Hamas. These terrorist organisations, Hamas and Lashkar-e-Taiba, hold no significance in Maharashtra. But, this shows how many dirty worms the BJP has planted in your mind."

Raut was responding to Shinde's speech made at the Dussehra rally on Tuesday, in which the CM said he won't be surprised if Uddhav Thackeray allies with Asaduddin Owaisi or even "hug terrorist organisations such as Hamas for selfish motives and chair." He made the statement apparently while referring to Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT)'s alliance with Congress and the Samajwadi Party as part of the opposition alliance INDIA.

Raut said, "Balasaheb always used to talk about strengthening the country, but Eknath Shinde's speech is all about making the BJP strong, making PM Modi strong. Such a rally is a place where you should show the path ahead to your party workers. But you have to say 'Modi ji ki jai' in a rally where BJP sends people."

Hamas which rules Gaza attacked Israel on October 7, following which the Jewish nation has declared a war against the Islamist organisation. Hamas is branded as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the United States.