Aaditya meets Rahul Gandhi in Delhi, briefs him on state of Maha

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Wednesday morning. The meeting was seen as the Shiv Sena’s attempt to pacify the Congress leadership after the Sena skipped the meeting of Opposition parties against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) earlier this week.

Thackeray met Gandhi at his residence in the capital. This is the first meeting between the two scions after their parties joined hands to form a government in Maharashtra. It is learnt that Thackeray apprised Gandhi about the state government’s welfare programme, including loan waiver. The two leaders also discussed the current political scenario in the country.

The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party – new allies of the Sena – were unhappy over the absence of Sena leaders in the anti-caa meeting called by Sonia Gandhi. Sena leader Sanjay Raut said there was ‘miscommunication’ over the meeting. The Sena is now expected to attend an event to oppose CAA and National Population Register (NPR) in New Delhi later this month.

Thackeray junior had flown to Delhi a day before the swearing-in of his father and Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in November to personally invite Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh. He did not meet Rahul Gandhi then. No member of the Gandhi family attended the swearing-in on November 28.