Eknath Shinde's 'Jai Gujarat' remark sparks fresh controversy

Saying "Jai Gujarat" at the end of his speech at a recent event has landed Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde into a massive row as it comes amidst the language debate in the state.

In the presence of Union home minister Amit Shah during a programme in Pune, Shinde ended his speech by dedicating a couplet to Shah and then said, "Jai Maharashtra, Jai Hind and Jai Gujarat". The remark came just hours after investor and Mumbai resident Sushil Kedia's dared MNS president Raj Thackeray that he would not learn Marathi.

"The real face of the duplicate Sena has come out, they (Shiv Sena) have clearly shown to the people what is going on in their head... they have shown what the state's future is going to be... This is why Amit Shah broke the Shiv Sena to ensure that people like Sushil Kedia are able to say this," said UBT Sena MP Sanjay Raut.


Shiv Sena was formed on the issue of giving justice to the Marathi speaking community and the UBT has labelled Shinde's remark as betraying the state in favour of Gujarati.