MUMBAI: A seemingly innocuous event to name three tiger cubs sparked a political row on Sunday after a chit apparently carrying the name ‘Aditya’ was taken back and replaced with another one.
Opposition leaders linked the name to Aaditya Thackeray, a minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government that collapsed last year after a rebellion by present CM Eknath Shinde resulted in a split in the Shiv Sena.
The incident unfolded in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar when Shinde, deputy CM Ajit Pawar and state forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar were invited to a function to name two male and one female tiger cubs. After Shinde took out one chit from a glass bowl, visuals of the event showed Pawar was asked to pick a chit from another container. With a grin, Pawar showed the chit to someone. A voice in the background could then be heard saying, “It’s Aditya,” and suggesting that Pawar should go for another. He picked a second chit and the name ‘Vikram’ was read out. The three cubs were finally named Shravani, Vikram and Kanha.
However, the incident gave a handle to the opposition to slam the government. Leader of opposition in the legislative council Ambadas Danve and Sena (UBT) leader said, “Whether from this world (referring to Thackeray) or the sky, no one can stop Aaditya. This government is even scared of his name,” he said.
Speaking to the media later, Shinde downplayed a question on the naming row. “Two chits were pulled out simultaneously...Hence, one chit was kept aside. There is nothing more to this,” he said.
Mungantiwar said, “Such petty issues should not be discussed... We are not scared of any Aditya.” pti
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