Shinde’s ‘Jai Gujarat’ chant draws Oppn flak

CM backs Shinde, but ally NCP says the controversy should have been avoided

- HT Correspondent

Deputy chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde on Friday ended a speech at an event in Pune attended by union home minister Amit Shah with the slogan “Jai Gujarat”, setting off a controversy with opposition parties slamming him and alleging that his real face had been revealed as he had shown his loyalty to Shah who hails from Gujarat.

Shinde, however, defended the action in the evening, saying he had simply hailed the Gujarati community as he was attending their function.

Shinde, while addressing a gathering during the inauguration of the Jairaj Sports and Convention Centre in Pune, built by the Gujarati community, ended his speech saying, “Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra, Jai Gujarat.”