Mumbai: The buzz about an imminent split in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena turned red-hot Thursday after six out of its nine Members of Parliament skipped a meeting called by the party’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Anil Desai. Coming amid speculation that six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs had decided to join the rival Eknath Shinde faction, the meeting was mandatory for all nine MPs to attend.
Only Anil Desai (Mumbai South Central), Arvind Sawant (Mumbai South) and Rajabhau Waje (Nashik) attended, along with Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut. The party had nursed hopes that Sanjay Dina Patil (Mumbai North East) and Omraje Nimbalkar, a Thackeray loyalist and MP from Dharashiv would be present, but they remained absent.
ThePrint attempted to contact both these MPs, but their phones were unreachable.
At least two-thirds of the Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs are needed to form a separate group or merge with an existing party to avoid the provisions of the anti-defection law. The six MPs who remained absent from the meeting are: Sanjay Dina Patil, Omraje Nimbalkar, Bhausaheb Waghchowre, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, and Nagesh Patil Ashtikar.
Speaking to the media, Shiv Sena (Shinde) leader Sanjay Shirsat said, “It became crystal clear that those six MPs don’t want to stay with the Shiv Sena (UBT). Now what decision they take needs to be seen. Whatever it is, they all fight it together.”
Shirsat said his party is not responsible for what has happened. “We haven’t done any operation. It was an internal conflict within their party and that’s why those six MPs got out on their own,” he said.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) is in the process of sending a notice to these MPs, asking them to explain their absence.
After the meeting, Sanjay Raut told media persons, “They (MPs) will be served show cause notices, and response will be sought from them. We will look towards the cancellation of their membership. This is betrayal. They are still the members of our party and won on our symbol. If they have violated the party whip, they will have to face legal action. The Bharatiya Janata Party has maligned the country’s politics, especially in Maharashtra, and they will have to pay a price.”
Before the party meeting began, Raut had said that it was time to be strict with those who split from the party, and that these MPs “need to be taught a lesson” and “action will be taken”.
“They feel that they have done this once. I would tell them, do it and show it us. If we don’t break you, we won’t use our father’s name. And our father is Balasaheb Thackeray. Are you mocking democracy? Do you have so much of money? Who are you threatening with Enforcement Directorate-Central Bureau of Investigation? Us? We have already been to jail and we are ready to go again. But only after teaching you a lesson,” Raut said.
Raut had earlier alleged that Maharashtra MPs are being bought for Rs 50 crore, with Rs 15 crore as advance. He also alleged that one of the MPs, Omraje Nimbalkar, is being pressured to switch sides by using the 20-year-old murder case of his father whose verdict was to come on 16 June but has been pushed to 20 June.
At his press conference with Arvind Sawant, Raut revealed that Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar had called him and said that action must be taken against these MPs, and that nobody should be spared. Sawant further said late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray had even suggested beating up MPs and MLAs who switch sides.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)
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