Amid the ongoing row over checking the bag of Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray, election officials on Wednesday checked the bags of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Union Minister Ramdas Athawale.
CM Shinde’s bags were checked at Palghar Police ground helipad where he went for an election campaign. Athawale's bags were checked by the officers after the minister arrived in Pune by helicopter.
Thackeray claimed his bags had been inspected by the election authorities after he had arrived in Latur and Yavatmal districts in the last two days to campaign for the November 20 state assembly elections. The former chief minister asked if the election authorities would also inspect the bags of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders.
Thackeray said he was not miffed with the election authorities but added, ”You are following your responsibility, and I will perform my responsibility. The way you inspected my bag, did you inspect the bags of Modi and Shah?” he asked. "Shouldn’t the bags of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CMs Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis be checked? "
”All these useless things are going on. I don’t consider it democratic. This can’t be a democracy. In a democracy, no one is big or small,” Thackeray said.
He said if the election authorities do not inspect their bags (of senior leaders of the ruling alliance), then workers of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the opposition MVA will check them.
"The police and the Election Commission should not intervene as voters also have the right to check their bags (senior leaders of the ruling parties) when they come for campaigning," he added.
Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena (UBT) posted a video of Thackeray’s bag being inspected on its X handle.
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