Fearing arrest, Shinde "cried" at Matoshree: Raut backs Thackeray's claim

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray claimed that Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had "cried" at Matoshree as he feared that he might be arrested. This incident happened before he joined hands with the BJP.

This claim has been backed by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut saying "it is correct" and that Shinde had told him the same thing. "Eknath Shinde cried after coming to Matoshree and said - If he does not go with BJP, he will be put in jail," Thackeray had claimed on April 11.

The fear of going to jail was "clearly visible" in Shine's "mind and heart", Raut stated.

"This is 100 per cent correct! Eknath Shinde had also said this after coming to me. I tried to make him (Shinde) understand.. But the fear of jail was clearly visible in his mind and heart. Aaditya is right," Raut tweeted.

"What Aaditya Thackeray is saying is completely true, the present Chief Minister (Eknath Shinde) also said the same after coming to my house that I do not want to go to jail, you break this alliance. ...There is a pressure system going on all over the country but we need not fear. He (CM Eknath Shinde) said no, I am afraid that I will be put in jail, he was afraid of going to jail," Raut told reporters.

Maharashtra Minister Deepak Kesarkar slammed the claims made by Thackeray alleging that that Aaditya has a "professional team that teaches him how to lie".

"There is a team that teaches him to lie. This is what happens in politics," he said. BJP leader Narayan Rane questioned Aaditya Thackeray to reveal when did Shinde visit Matoshree. "I will not speak on that. He says anything. There is childishness in him. When did Shinde go? When did he cry? In which year did he cry? This is all nonsense," he added.

Last year, Shinde launched a rebellion against the party. Majority of MLAs sided with him, which led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA-comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) government led by Uddhav Thackeray.

Later, he was sworn in as the 20th chief minister of Maharashtra, while BJP stalwart Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the deputy CM.