Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday slammed Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for his Dussehra remarks linking the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena to Hamas, a Palestinian militant outfit that killed innocents in Israel and said that the BJP has planted “dirty worms” in his head.

“He (Eknath Shinde) is himself Hamas… It was an auspicious occasion and the way he spoke shows his thinking. The Shiv Sena that gave him everything, brought him in the politics and nurtured him to hold the CM’s post and in return he is calling that party Hamas. This shows how many dirty worms the BJP has planted in his mind…,” Raut said in video shared by news agency ANI.

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#WATCH | Mumbai: On Eknath Shinde’s statement, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut says, “… He (Eknath Shinde) is himself Hamas… This shows how many dirty worms the BJP has planted in your mind…” https://t.co/r3qaUo4Tni pic.twitter.com/BkYgFPOgjr

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— ANI (@ANI) ref=”https://twitter.com/ANI/status/1717041275701264423?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>October 25, 2023

Raut was responding to the Maharashtra CM’s Dussehra speech in which he attacked his ex-boss and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Shinde said that Uddhav Thackeray and his faction of Shiv Sena can even form an alliance with terror groups like Hamas and Lashkar-e-Taiba.

“You back-stabbed Bal Thackeray by committing dishonesty with his ideological legacy. I won’t be surprised if they ally with terrorist groups like Hamas and Lashkar-e-Taiba for their own selfish motives,” Shinde said while speaking at a Dussehra rally in Mumbai’s Azad Maidan on Tuesday.

Referring to an incident in 2004, when Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray allegedly hit an effigy of Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar with slippers, Shinde said, “Mani Shankar Aiyar’s photo was hit with a shoe. Today, they (Shiv Sena (UBT) are picking up the shoes of Congress”.

Shinde was part of Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena until last year when he ditched the party with several other MLAs and joined the BJP to form the government in Maharashtra. Ever since, the two Shiv Sena factions have been at loggerheads with each other.

While Shinde claims his faction is the real Shiv Sena, Uddhav Thackeray faction moved the Supreme Court demanding his faction should be given the symbol and name of the party founded by his late father Bala Saheb Thackeray. The issue is pending in the Supreme Court.