Maharashtra – In a recent development, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde expressed his displeasure over the statement made by Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar about the killing of former Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare.
Shinde termed Wadettiwar’s comments about the martyred policemen and innocent Mumbaikars who lost their lives in the 26/11 attacks as “highly irritating and infuriating.” He further added that Wadettiwar seems to have lost his senses following the slogan of Rahul Gandhi, who is not conducting ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ but ‘Bharat Todo Yatra.’
The Chief Minister’s remarks have sparked a new controversy in the political circles of Maharashtra. The statement has been seen as a direct attack on the Congress party and its leadership, particularly Rahul Gandhi.
The 26/11 Mumbai attacks were a series of terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an extremist Islamist terrorist organization based in Pakistan, carried out a series of 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks lasting four days across Mumbai.
Among the victims was Hemant Karkare, the then chief of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, who was killed during the attacks. His death and the circumstances surrounding it have been a subject of controversy and political debate.
The recent statement by Wadettiwar and the subsequent response by Shinde have once again brought the issue to the forefront of Maharashtra politics.
As the situation unfolds, it remains to be seen how the Congress party responds to the criticism and what impact this will have on the political landscape of Maharashtra.