Speaking at a rally at Malegaon, CM Shinde said he rebelled as he wanted to "protect Balasaheb Thackeray's legacy."
"There will be an earthquake if I start giving interviews.....Unlike some people, I never travelled abroad every year for holidays. Shiv Sena and its growth were the only things on my mind," he said.
"I was witness to what happened with `Dharmaveer'," said Shinde, referring to Dighe, a fiery Shiv Sena leader and his mentor who died following a road accident in 2002.
Thackeray, who resigned as chief minister in June after Shinde rebelled against him along with majority of Shiv Sena MLAs, have often dubbed the rebels as "traitors." However, without naming Uddhav, the CM referred to the same saying, "What do you call those who compromise with Balasaheb's ideology just to become chief minister?" he asked.
"You fight elections in alliance with BJP and then form government with Congress and NCP to become chief minister. Isn't this a betrayal?" Shinde further asked.
The Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government, which came to power after a high-voltage political drama, is completing one month in office on Saturday, but there is still no clarity on when the cabinet expansion will take place.
Shinde took oath as chief minister on June 30, a day after Uddhav Thackeray was forced to step down from the post following a rebellion by the majority of Sena legislators led by Shinde.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as deputy chief minister. The government was formed 10 days after Shinde raised a banner of revolt against the Shiv Sena leadership.
The Sena faction led by him and BJP would together win 200 out of 288 seats in the next Assembly elections, he claimed.
(With inputs from agencies)
