We will burn Lanka: Devendra Fadnavis responds to Eknath Shinde's jibe

Tensions between Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde are now spilling out into the open, with the CM responding to Shinde's "Ravana" jibe at the BJP. "Ignore those who speak ill about us; they may say that they would burn our Lanka. We don't live in Lanka. We are Ram's followers and not Ravana's. Such things are spoken during elections, don't take this to heart," Fadnavis said Wednesday. "We are the ones who chant Jai Shri Ram. Only yesterday (Tuesday) we unveiled the Dharma Dhwaja in the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. We are a party that worships Lord Ram; we will burn Lanka."

Fadnavis was addressing BJP workers at Dahanu during a campaign rally for the municipal council and nagar panchayat polls in Palghar district.

Shiv Sena leader Shinde, while campaigning for his party candidate in Palghar a few days earlier, had likened the BJP to Ravana without naming it. "Even Ravana was arrogant and hence his Lanka was burnt down. You have to do the same on December 2 (the day of voting)," said Shinde. In the Palghar polls, the Shiv Sena has roped in both factions of the Nationalist Congress Party to take on the BJP which, according to Shinde, was autocratic. "We have all come together, we have come together against autocracy, arrogance...," he said.


Tensions between Fadnavis and Shinde have been simmering after the BJP inducted a few former corporators of the Shiv Sena, considered close to Shinde's son Shrikant at Dombivli Kalyan, into the party. The Shiv Sena had boycotted a weekly cabinet meeting over this and had met Fadnavis to raise the issue. The chief minister said the BJP was just following the Shiv Sena example as the latter had inducted BJP functionaries from Ulhasnagar into it.

Shinde was not happy with Fadnavis' response and travelled to Delhi to complain to BJP leader and home minister Amit Shah about the state BJP.