Controversy surrounds Eknath Shinde's son Shrikant after pic shows him on CM's chair

New Delhi: An image purportedly showing Lok Sabha Member Shrikant Shinde, son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, sitting in the CM's chair, has sparked a debate. Some members of the Opposition have accused Shinde's son of disrespecting his father's office. While all was going on, Shrikant vehemently refuted the accusations, claiming that the photo of him was taken at his own property in Thane, not the Chief Minister's office, Indian Express reported.

"The allegations are ridiculous," Shrikant tweeted on Friday evening. "The place in the photo is our private residence in Thane, where my father and I have attended to people's problems for years. It is not the official residence of the CM or his government office." Shrikant looks to be seated in an office with some documents in his hand in the image, which has subsequently been extensively shared on social media.

Ravikant Varpe, the State Spokesperson for NCP, posted the photograph on Twitter and mockingly referred to Shrikant as "super CM" and accused the Shindes of strangling democracy.

"Best wishes to Shrikant Shinde for becoming Super CM," he said. "In the absence of the Chief Minister, his Chiranjeev is in charge of the post of Chief Minister. This is the strangulation of democracy. What kind of Rajdharma is this?"

The Lok Sabha MP clarified that he and his father both utilised the office at their private property in a video posted on Facebook. "CM Shinde works for 18 to 20 hours. He's a capable CM and no one needs to fill in his chair in his absence," he said.

Following the NCP's accusation, the Nationalist Congress Party on Saturday demanded action from the Mumbai police and accused Sheetal Mhatre, spokesman for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena side, of posting a "morphed" image of Baramati MP Supriya Sule sitting on the chief minister's chair. Mhatre also questioned, "Look who is sitting on the chief minister's chair," in the post.