Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray demanded action from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis against Mumbai BJP Ameet Satam after a video of him went viral in which he is seen laughing allegedly at Mumbai’s rain-related deaths. SS UBT leader Sanjay Raut also posted a grab of Satam laughing on X in which he said, “Merchants of Death. The cruel face of Mumbai BJP.” Satam has defended himself, saying the video has been taken out of context.On Saturday, Thackeray posted an open letter to Fadnavis on X, stating, “One of your MLAs and office-bearers laughs gleefully over people’s deaths and not a single step is taken against him. There’s that famous line you may have heard too: Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” He did not name Satam.“Devendra Fadnavis was seen as a cultured and sensitive Chief Minister. But when things like this happen and you express no regrets whatsoever, it forces one to question your very sensitivity, “ he stated. “Your ministers make utterly absurd statements every day and you say nothing about it. Your other leaders openly flaunt their insensitivity and you say nothing to them.” He ended by saying, “You should be demanding resignations from those behaving so shamelessly.”Shiv Sena (UBT) functionary and former minister Aaditya Thackeray posted, “He was laughing about Mumbaikars discussing the death of a child in a tree fall incident, followed by the manhole death. Any responsible party would immediately sack such a shameless man who can make such cruel jokes on his own party’s failure to run the city well.”Satam claimed the viral video was taken out of context. “There was a different context to what was said, which is being misconstrued. Some people sit at home and make statements. In the last 25 years, has anyone seen Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray and Raj Thackeray on Mumbai’s roads during the rains?” he asked. “There is only one reason they are targeting me. We have permanently shut down the 25-year-old understanding (corruption) in the Standing Committee of the BMC and the associated scams,” he stated.State revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule from the BJP defended Satam and said, “Satam is a sensitive leader. The misunderstanding needs to be cleared. Sometimes in a conversation, several things are said and one is reacting to something else.”
