An “objectionable” tweet describing Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s wife Rashmi Thackeray as “Marathi Rabri Devi” sparked a controversy on Thursday, with the Mumbai police calling a BJP social media functionary for questioning over the tweet.
In a development that saw the ruling MVA leaders hit out at the BJP for the controversial tweet put out by its social media functionary Jiten Gajaria, the the Cyber Cell of the Crime Branch-CID of Mumbai Police called Gajaria for questioning over his description of Rashmi Thackeray as"Marathi Rabri Devi".
In his tweet put out along with photograph of Rashmi Thackeray, Gajaria has likened her to Bihar’s former chief minister Rabri Devi, who had taken over the reins of the northern state after her husband and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav resigned in the wake of his involvement in the fodder scam.
Through his tweet, Gajaria has indirectly referred to the health issues faced by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who is recouping from a cervical spine surgery that he underwent at HN Reliance Hospital here on November 12. Uddhav’s health issues should be seen in the context of the fact that the winter session of the Maharashtra Legislature – for the first time in the history of the State Legislature -- came to be convened in Mumbai instead of Nagpur in view of the chief minister’s delicate condition and the fact that the doctors attending on him have advised him to go out of Mumbai.
Confirming that his client and party colleague Gajaria had been called for questioning, Mumbai BJP secretary and Advocate Vivekananda Gupta said: “Gajaria has been called for questioning by the police. He has not been arrested. Nor has any FIR been registered against my client”.
Shiv Sena leader and current Maharashtra Legislative Council chairperson Dr Neelam Gorhe condemned the tweet saying that “it was objectionable”. “ Wecan not tolerate this kind of insults,” she said.
BJP’s state women’s wing vice president and activist Chitra Wagh disapproved tweet by saying: “I am not supporting it”. She however, said: “ At the same time, we should also take note of the fact that the police have not taken any action against Shiv Sena leader and water supply and sanitation minister Gulabrao Patil, who compared the roads in his constituency in Jalgaon district to yester year actress and MP Hema Malini's cheeks.
A couple of day ago Shiv Sena leader and minister Abdul Sattar, had said that Rashmi Thackeray, if made chief minister, was capable of running the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state. State BJP president Chandrakant Patil had said Uddhav’s wife Rashmi Thackeray or son Aaditya Thackeray, who is state tourism, environment and protocol minister, should be made the chief minister of the state in view of the heath condition of the chief minister.
It may be recalled that on March 1, 2020 Rashmi Thackeray had replaced Uddhav as the editor of the Shiv Sena’s official mouth-piece “Saamana”, a Marathi daily newspaper,
The change in guard in “Saamana” set-up was expected as Uddhav had quit as the editor of the party’s official mouth-piece after taking over as the chief minister of Maharashtra in November 2019.
Uddhav Thackeray had taken over as the Editor of “Saamana” after the death of Shiv Sena chief and his father Bal Thackeray on November 18, 2012. After having been its editor for eight years, Uddhav resigned as the editor of Saamana , before taking the oath as the chief minister on November 28, 2019. So much so that Uddhav’s name had disappeared from the print line of the newspaper.
In a public notice issued in the newspaper by publisher of “Saamana” Madhukar Bhagwat under the Regulations of Newspapers on Sunday, Rashmi Thackeray was named as the Editor of the Sena’s official mouth-piece.
‘Saamana’ began its publication on January 23, 1988, with late Thackeray as its founding editor. 'Dopahar Ka Saamana', a Hindi afternoon edition of “Saamana” was launched by the Shiv Sena on February 23, 1993.