Don't take me lightly, we've toppled a govt once: Shinde

Although he denied a 'cold war' with Fadnavis, Shinde's remarks hint at discord between duo

- Pradip Kumar Maitra

NAGPUR: Deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde fired a warning shot on Friday, cautioning his detractors "not to take him lightly".

Shinde's comments, peppered with the cryptic warning, come amid a growing rift between him and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

In Nagpur on Friday, Shinde addressed the media after police received an email threat to detonate a bomb in his car. Unfazed, Shinde flipped the script, giving his political opponents something to think about instead.

"Do not take me lightly. I have already said this to those who took me lightly. I am a normal party worker but I am also a worker of Balasaheb Thackeray, and everyone should take me with this understanding," Shinde declared, referencing his role in the 2022 rebellion that split the Shiv Sena and pulled down the Uddhav Thackeray government.