Rival Shiv Senas dare and bare fangs at Balasaheb Thackeray memorial

Mumbai: A scuffle erupted between the two rival parties -- ruling ally Shiv Sena and the Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) at the memorial of the party’s legendary founder, Balasaheb Thackeray, at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park here.

The incident happened late on Thursday. The occasion was a brief visit by Shiv Sena leader and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde who went to pay his respects at the Balasaheb Thackeray Memorial on the eve of his 11th death anniversary Friday

He, along with many supporters garlanded a portrait and a plaque at the memorial, bowed and with folded hands offered homage to the memory of the late Balasaheb Thackeray.

Soon after he left the venue, many Shiv Sena (UBT) activists along with some leaders gathered there, shouting slogans of ‘Gaddars’, ‘Khokha Sarkar’, etc., with retaliation from the ruling Shiv Sena supporters.

At one point, some rival activists from both sides managed to push each other around giving a tough time to the police which had deployed tight security at the venue.

Shinde explained later in a statement that he went to pay homage on the eve of Balasaheb Thackeray’s death anniversary to avoid any unpleasant clashes, legal issues or other disruptions on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena (UBT) President and former CM Uddhav Thackeray, along with his family members, the party top brass and activists from all over the state will visit the park to pay their respects later in the day, and subsequently, leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies Congress, Nationalist Congress (SP) and others are expected to go there.

The founder-patriarch of the Shiv Sena, Balasaheb Keshav Thackeray, also revered as ‘Hindu HridaySamrat’ passed away aged 86 following a cardiac arrest on November 17, 2012, and was accorded a mammoth public funeral at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park.