Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde on Sunday said MNS president Raj Thackeray should have gathered all details concerning the Maratha quota before targeting him over the issue.

Speaking to reporters in Dare village, Satara district, during the ongoing Ganesh festival, Shinde said Thackeray should have also asked why the reservation granted to the Maratha community when Devendra Fadnavis was chief minister (2014–19) was struck down by the Supreme Court, despite having stood the legal test in the High Court, according to the news agency PTI. 

“He (Thackeray) should have gathered all the information,” Shinde said, adding that his office expected him to return to Mumbai by Sunday night.