Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said here on Thursday that rebel MP Sanjay Dina Patil, who defected from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena to the Eknath Shinde-led Sena, has been issued a stern warning after he used unprintable language and choicest expletives against journalists.
“Representatives of the people should be polite when talking to the media. The Mahayuti will not tolerate such statements from any MP, MLA or minister from now on. It is very important for party leaders to ensure such incidents do not happen in the future,” Fadnavis said, expressing his displeasure with Patil’s behaviour.
Fadnavis made the statement following sharp criticism of Patil’s behaviour by the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) parties as well as Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena leaders as well as journalists.
Earlier, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde reached out to media persons, stating he asked the MP to issue an apology. He also criticised Sanjay Raut, the Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and chief Sena spokesperson led by Uddhav Thackeray, who had used colourful language at a recent press conference in Delhi and even defended it before the media.
“Why are you poking your nose in my affairs? If you come again, I will kill you,” Sanjay Dina Patil had allegedly told journalists, along with a few Marathi expletives.
He was reacting to a journalist’s question about his daughter, Rajul, who has professed loyalty to Uddhav Thackeray instead of defecting from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, as he has done.
Downplaying the controversy, Shinde said he asked the MP to issue an apology. “Sanjay Dina Patil had no intention to insult journalists. If anyone was hurt by his words, he has expressed his willingness to apologize,” he told the media.
He also attempted to explain why Patil had lashed out at journalists, citing personal attacks made by Sanjay Raut, a Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP from the Uddhav Thackeray faction, against Sanjay Dina Patil. “Since 2022 (when Eknath Shinde first split the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena), you have all seen the kind of language used in front of the media. References were made to family members, and people were asked to enter the homes of rivals. Sanjay Dina Patil was disgusted by such language. He is neither against the media nor is he angry with journalists,” Shinde said.