Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday launched a sharp attack on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, accusing him of remaining silent on the controversy surrounding Mumbai BJP chief Amit Satam’s viral video in which Satam allegedly laughs over two recent deaths in Mumbai. Raj Thackeray said inaction against Satam would erode the political culture in Maharashtra.
In an open letter addressed to Fadnavis and published on X, Raj Thackeray said people across the country believe that the BJP’s central leadership has become “arrogant with power”. “…But has this infection now spread to our state? And are you allowing it to spread?” he wrote in Marathi.
Comparing Maharashtra with other states, the MNS chief said the state’s politics had long been admired for its maturity and urbanisation.
“But over the past few years, it has become painfully clear that you are starting to rise to the level of some of those backward-minded countries in the north,” he added.
Without naming Satam directly, Raj Thackeray referred to the recent controversy over the BJP leader’s statements in the wake of two civil tragedies in Mumbai. “One of your aides and officials is happily laughing at the death of people, and no step has been taken against him,” he said, citing the oft-cited principle: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
He added: “No one feels any remorse or remorse…and in all of this, you don’t say a single word, and that’s why everyone has become completely rude.”
Raj Thackeray also questioned Fadnavis’ image as a sensitive leader.
“Devendra Fadnavis was seen as an educated and sensitive Chief Minister – that’s what Maharashtra thought, and so do I. But when things like this happen and you express no remorse at all, it forces one to question your very sensitivity,” he wrote.
Recalling what he described as a different political tradition in the state, Raj Thackeray said leaders across party lines did not protect their colleagues just because they belonged to the same political camp. “I have been active in politics for the last 37 years. Whenever a leader in Maharashtra slipped up or made a mistake, the state leaders of that time would never cover for him just because he was one of them. Be it Balasaheb, Pawar Sahib, Pramodji, or anyone else – that is why Maharashtra politics has had a distinct image across the country,” he said.
He accused the BJP government of doing exactly the opposite today. “Your ministers make completely ridiculous statements every day, and you say nothing about them. Your other leaders openly flaunt their insensitivity, and you say nothing to them,” he said, adding that if the prime minister had intervened earlier, “they would not have had the courage to repeat those mistakes.”
Raj Thackeray called for “decisive action”, saying: “In fact, you should demand the resignation of those who act shamelessly.”
“One time show that Fadnavis is taking strict action against those who behave crazy, and everyone will fall in line,” he added.
What is grade?
The remarks come amid a political firestorm over a widely circulated video showing Sattam laughing while referring to two recent deaths in Mumbai – an 11-year-old boy who was killed after a tree fell on his school bus, and a 60-year-old man who died after falling into an uncovered manhole during the monsoon.
Opposition parties, including the Shiv Sena (UBT), accused Sattam of trivializing the tragedies and cited the video as evidence of insensitivity within the ruling system. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi alleged that the incidents amounted to “negligent homicides” and questioned the government’s accountability.
Sattam explains
But Sattam rejected these allegations, saying that the clip that was widely circulated was taken out of context.
He emphasized that he was referring to the two incidents because he brought them up on consecutive days in the legislature and that his smile was in response to an unrelated exchange with another lawmaker, not the deaths themselves.
The Prime Minister did not respond publicly.
