Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi has tendered apology to party chief Uddhav Thackeray for criticising him in October.
In an an apology letter to Mr Thackeray on Thursday which was shared with the media, Mr. said, “I have faith in the party leadership. The comment I made about the memorial for the party’s founder Bal Thackeray has upset the party. The party president’s leadership and directives are of utmost importance to me. I publicly apologise if any of my statements have unknowingly caused disrespect to the party president.”
Mr. Thackeray on Saturday called a meeting with senior party leaders in which he made it clear that he would not tolerate dissidence. “Those who are not happy with my leadership are free to leave the party. I do not want trouble-makers in the party,” Mr. Thackeray said at the meeting.
The apology is a climbdown for the former Lok Sabha speaker who had earlier maintained that he had done nothing wrong and felt no need to apologise.
Mr. Joshi clashed with Mr Thackeray in October when he indirectly referred to him as a weak leader for not managing to build a memorial for Bal Thackeray who died last year. Mr. Joshi’s outburst came shortly after he was denied a ticket for the coming Lok Sabha elections from Dadar. Later at a party rally, Mr. Joshi was heckled by party workers. Since then the party had studiously ignored Mr. Joshi, leaving him with little choice but to apologise.
