India News | BJP's Somaiya Doesn't Take Uddhav's Name, Says 'mafia Raj' Comment Was Sentiment of Maha People

Mumbai, Jul 8 (PTI) BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, who has been relentlessly targeting Uddhav Thackeray over alleged corruption issues when the latter was chief minister, including calling the previous MVA dispensation "mafia raj", on Friday said he was merely expressing the sentiment of the people.

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Several Sena leaders at the time used to hit back at Somaiya, many of whom are now part of the new government under Eknath Shinde, which is backed by the BJP.

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Among them was Deepak Kesarkar, MLA and spokesperson for the Shinde faction, who had, on Thursday, expressed disappointment at Somaiya's remarks.

Speaking to reporters during the day, Somaiya, when queried on the issue, said. "All I can say is the mafia government in Maharashtra has ended. It was the feeling of many people from Maharashtra and I merely expressed it.”

He also demanded that a closure report filed by the previous Thackeray government in a case related to a Bengaluru-based IT company sending 82,000 objections to the construction of a metro carshed in Mumbai's green lung Aarey must be withdrawn and probe allowed to continue.

The Thackeray government was vehemently opposed to the carshed at Aarey, and had shifted its location to Kanjurmarg in the metropolis' central suburbs, while the Shinde government, in one of its first announcements, said Aarey had been brought back as the preferred site.

"As the closure report has not yet been accepted by the court, it should be withdrawn and probe should continue," Somaiya said.

"Met 'Rikshawala' CM @mieknathshinde at Mantralaya today alongwith @NeilSomaiya , expressed Best Wishes & Thanked him for replacing MAFIA CM," Somaiya had tweeted on Thursday.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)