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Tag: Maharashtra crisis

  • Maharashtra governor writes to Centre for adequate security forces amid protests against rebel MLAs 

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has written to Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla requesting the adequate provision of Central security forces in the state against the backdrop of shivsainiks vandalising offices of rebel MLAs.

    In his letter dated June 25, Koshyari said he had received a representation from 38 Shiv Sena MLAs, two members of the Prahar Janshakti Party and 7 Independent MLAs stating that the police security of their families had been “illegally and unlawfully withdrawn”.

    A bulk of Shiv Sena MLAs are camping in Guwahati under the leadership of senior party minister Eknath Shinde demanding the exit of the Sena from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and raising other issues, a development that has threatened the survival of the state government.

    “They have also raised serious concerns about the safety of their homes and families in the context of provocative and threatening statements being made by certain political leaders,” Koshyari wrote.

    The governor said he had already issued directions to the state police to provide adequate police protection to the MLAs and their families on an immediate basis.

    “Despite this, offices and homes of some MLAs have been vandalized with police being a mute spectator. It is accordingly requested that adequate provision of Central security forces be made and kept ready, in case required to address the situation,” he added.

    Earlier on Sunday, the governor was discharged from a hospital in Mumbai after recovering from COVID-19, authorities said.

    A day earlier, rebel leader Eknath Shinde had accused the MVA government of withdrawing security from the residences of 38 party rebels, including himself, and their families, and dubbed the action as “political vendetta”, although Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil denied any such move.

  • The Eknath Shinde story: Auto driver who shook Shiv Sena’s foundations

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI: The meteoric rise of rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde rivals Bollywood’s film scripts. An auto-driver with humble beginnings, he went on to become the right hand man of party chief Uddhav Thackeray, and his nemesis. 

    Shinde is a four-time MLA and two-time minister. Skilled in organising people and events, Shinde’s spark was discovered and initially used by Sena’s Thane district president Nanad Dighe. That’s how auto-driver Shinde started driving Dighe’s car.

    He then became the eyes and ears of Dighe, who used to be known as the “king of Thane”. Closeness with Dighe helped him get elected as a corporator in the Thane Municipal Corporation. Subsequently, Shinde became an MLA and the rest is history. Over the time, he reportedly amassed huge wealth and clout in the party. In the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray, Shinde was handling plum portfolios of urban development and state road transport. 

    In 2019, when Sena was bargaining with the BJP over sharing of power, Shinde was dreaming of deputy chief minister post. That dream was clipped when Uddhav Thackeray decided to form government with the help of NCP and Congress.

    Moreover, Uddhav’s son, Aaditya Thackeray, too, joined the cabinet and became Number 2 in the party, diminishing Shinde’s position in Sena further. Aaditya’s entry to Sena politics seems to have rattled the rebel leader most.

    ALSO READ| Maha mess: The BJP traps the Sena tiger

    The pandemic offered him a good opportunity to cobble up numbers in his favour. When Uddhav was undergoing spine surgery, Shinde made use of the communication gap between the CM and party MLA’s.

    He apparently exploited this to his favour by bringing several legislators on his side, resulting in the biggest revolt against Thackeray family in Sena’s history. Shinde has not only destabilised the alliance government but also shaken the foundations of the Sena.

  • Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde met Amit Shah, Devendra Fadnavis in Gujarat on Friday: Sources

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI: While the BJP is said to be distancing themselves from Maharashtra minister’s Eknath Shinde rebellion, terming it as internal matter of Shiv Sena, it has now been reported that Union Home Minister Amit Shah and state Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis had a confidential meeting in Vadodara with Shinde late Friday night. 

    According to highly placed sources, Fadnavis was seen at Mumbai airport on Friday night taking a flight to Gujarat and it is believed that Shinde, who left Guwahati’s Blue Radisson Hotel where all rebels are campled, had met Shah to discuss their further strategy and solve the crisis.

    “The rebel camp wasn’t expecting the party to disqualify them as MLAs for defacation, as they will be in trouble if the disqualifaction is a succes. The Assembly deputy speaker has also called them for an hearing to the disqualification notice and if all of them come together, then a solution can be brought opon to keep the flock together,” said a source requesting anonymity.

    “Even during Chagan Bhujbal’s revolt against Shiv Sena, initially 18 MLAs had rebelled but in reality only 11 were left.  Beside, when Narayan Rane left Shiv Sena, that time also same issue happen. Shinde is worried about repeating the same history and that will jeopardise both his political career and BJP’s dream of coming back to power in Maharashtra,” the source added.

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    He said that Shinde had asked the BJP to find out the solutions for this crisis. “It has been five days since the rebel MLAs are outside Maharashtra. Their restlessness is increasing due to insecurity and protests against them in their respective constituencies by Shiv Sainiks. If there is any delay in government formation, then things can slip out of their hand,” he said.

    “While such operations have to be carried out quickly, this is taking more time and it can damage to such an extent that the fight is likely to dragged to court and state assembly only. Therefore, Shinde asked for Shah and other leader’s immediate intervention and hence, the Vadodara meeting was arranged,” he added. Fadnavis, who also attended this high level meeting, wasn’t not available for a comment.

    Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that six rebel ministers will be sacked from Uddhav Thackeray’s ministry and gave a ’24 hour ultimatum’ to come back and meet the chief minister to whom they can put forth their demands. 

    “Our government follows laws. Therefore, it will take little time but the ministers and MLAs who cheated us will face the public music. The legal team is working over and within 24 hours, we will see the result,” Raut said.These rebel ministers include Eknath Shinde, Gulabrao Patil, Dada Bhuse, Sandepan Bhumars besides Bacchu Kadu.

    Sources said that Thackeray will write to governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari demanding sacking of the said ministers.

    ALSO READ| My fight is for rescuing Shiv Sena from ‘python of MVA’: Eknath Shinde

    Earlier today, Shinde alleged that the security of the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs and that of their family members was removed. “If something happens with them, then this Aghadi government including the chief minister and home minister will be held responsible,” he said.

    However, home minister Dilip Walse Patil denied the report that no such decision of removing security has been taken and in fact looking at the present political situation, the security has been provided.

  • My fight is for rescuing Shiv Sena from clutches of ‘python of MVA’: Rebel minister Eknath Shinde

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on late Saturday evening said Shiv Sena workers should understand that he was fighting to save the party from the clutches of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).

    Shinde’s appeal came after Sena workers loyal to party president and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray staged protests against the rebel MLAs led by him by defacing their banners, hurling stones in some places and vandalising the office of an MLA in Pune.

    प्रिय शिवसैनिकांनो,नीट समजून घ्या, म.वि.आ. चा खेळ ओळखा..! MVA च्या अजगराच्या विळख्यातून शिवसेना व शिवसैनिकांना सोडवण्यासाठीच मी लढत आहे. हा लढा तुम्हा शिवसैनिकांच्या हिता करीता समर्पित…. आपला एकनाथ संभाजी शिंदे.#MiShivsainik
    — Eknath Shinde – एकनाथ शिंदे (@mieknathshinde) June 25, 2022
    In a tweet in Marathi, Shinde, who is camping in Guwahati with his group of MLAs, said, “My dear Shiv Sena workers, try to understand the machinations of the MVA. I am fighting for rescuing the Shiv Sena and Sena workers from the clutches of the python of the MVA. I dedicate this fight to the interest of Shiv Sena workers.”

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    Shinde and his supporters have said earlier that they want the Sena to pull out of the “unnatural” Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition with the Congress and NCP, and revive the alliance with BJP.

  • ‘Political vendetta’: Uddhav government removed security cover of 16 rebel MLAs, says Shinde

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Dissident Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on Saturday alleged that the Maharashtra government has withdrawn the security cover provided at the residences of 16 rebel legislators, including himself, and dubbed the action as “political vendetta”.

    Shinde, who is currently camping in Guwahati with the rebel legislators, tweeted a letter signed by the 16 MLAs that is addressed to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil.

    In the letter, the legislators said CM Thackeray and the leaders of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance will be responsible if any harm is caused to their family members.

    In his tweet, Shinde alleged that the security cover of the 16 rebel Sena legislators was withdrawn on the orders of Thackeray and Walse Patil due to “political vendetta”.

    FOLLOW LIVE COVERAGE OF MAHARASHTRA TURMOIL HERE

    “The government is responsible for the security of these legislators,” he added. In the letter, the legislators demanded that their security cover be reinstated.

    “If our family members are harmed, then the chief minister, leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government like Sharad Pawar, Sanjay Raut and Aaditya Thackeray will be responsible,” the letter said.

    The security cover, which is provided at their residence as well as to their family members as per the protocol, has been withdrawn illegally and unlawfully as an act of revenge, it said.

    ALSO READ: Who is footing hotel bills in Guwahati, Surat, asks NCP; says IT dept, ED should find source of ‘black money’

    The MVA government has been facing a crisis of survival after a majority of Sena MLAs shifted their loyalty to Shinde and are camping in Guwahati.

  • Maharashtra: Rebel Sena MLAs gave slip to security personnel citing different reasons to reach Surat

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Much before the rebellion by a section of Shiv Sena MLAs caught the party-led Maharashtra government off guard and became the talk of the town, these legislators had accomplished the task of giving the slip to their security personnel in order to head to Surat in Gujarat and later to Guwahati, where they are camping at present.

    While what unfolds in the ongoing political drama involving these dissident MLAs led by Sena minister Eknath Shinde remains to be seen, it is beyond doubt that they succeeded in throwing dust in the eyes of their security guards as well as party workers in order to keep their plan of escaping to the neighbouring state a secret, which has now given rise to the talks of intelligence failure.

    A police official said the legislators gave the slip to their security officials and the police personnel citing personal reasons so that the government machinery remains clueless about their plans.

    From Tuesday, Maharashtra’s ruling alliance – the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) – started battling its worst crisis since coming into existence in 2019 after Shinde rebelled against the party and herded some MLAs, initially to Gujarat and later to Assam, both BJP-ruled states.

    The crisis, which erupted hours after the Legislative Council polls held on June 20, which saw the opposition BJP managing to get its fifth candidate elected. Shinde had gone incommunicado following the results. He and a group of rebel MLAs first stayed in Gujarat.

    Since Wednesday, he has been camping in a Guwahati hotel along with at least 38 rebel MLAs of the Sena and 10 independents. Their rebellion became public on June 21 morning.

    Talking about how these legislators managed to escape, mostly from Mumbai, to Surat, located around 280 kms, a police official said, “Many of the MLAs, who have been provided protection by the state police department, told their security personnel that they had some personal work and asked them to wait until they return. However, they headed to Surat after that without informing them.” A Mumbai-based MLA was sitting in his office and sipping coconut water when he told his supporters that he would return in a few minutes and left the place, he added.

    Another party legislator said that he had to go home for some work. A Yuva Sena office-bearer was travelling in his car, but after some distance the legislator forced him to get off and proceeded further, he said.

    “Another legislator asked his security personnel to outside a hotel, saying that he had some work inside, but escaped from its another gate, leaving his guards clueless,” he said.

    As the MLA did not turn up, the security officials informed their seniors about it, the official said, adding that it happened in case of some other legislators too. Four of these MLAs had categorised security cover.

    These leaders are Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde, Minister of State for Home Shambhuraj Desai, ministers Abdul Sattar and Sandipan Bhumre has categorised, he said.

    These four MLAs were guarded by the SPOs (special police officers) and security officials, but their security personnel were not aware of their plans as their personal itinerary was not disclosed to them, he added.

    “By the time the SPOs informed about the movement to the protectees to their seniors, the MLAs had crossed the state border. All this drama unfolded within a span of a few hours. The police officials, posted for their security did not realise about the escape plan,” he said.

    Senior officials from the home department said there was no intelligence failure, as the state intelligence department had provided inputs about some Shiv Sena MLAs being in touch with the leaders of the opposition party leaders since the last few months.

    “There was nothing on paper as everything was conveyed to the people concerned verbally, but no action was taken on the information,” he said.

    Two days back, NCP chief Sharad Pawar had reportedly expressed his displeasure to state Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil, who is from the NCP, about the escape of Sena MLAs and questioned why the state Home ministry and Intelligence department did not alert the MVA leadership about rebel MLAs leaving Maharashtra for a safe haven in BJP-ruled Gujarat.

  • BJP wants to finish off Shiv Sena as it does not want to share Hindu vote bank: Uddhav Thackeray

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Striking a defiant note, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday night dared rebel leader Eknath Shinde and the BJP to try and take away the Shiv Sena cadre and those who vote for the party, and also accused the BJP of trying to finish off the Sena.

    In a virtual address to party corporators, he said that the common Shiv Sena workers were his “wealth”, and as long as they were with him, he did not care about criticism by others. The Shiv Sena has been “betrayed by its own people,” he said, as his government faced a crisis after majority of Sena MLAs joined Eknath Shinde who is camping in Guwahati.

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    “We gave these rebels tickets to contest assembly elections despite many of you being aspirants for the same. These people are disgruntled after getting elected owing to your hard work, and you are standing by the party in this crucial time. I can’t thank you enough,” Thackeray, who is also the Shiv Sena president, told party workers.

    “I had told Eknath Shinde to look into complaints regarding alliance partners. He told me that legislators were pressurizing him that the Sena should join hands with the BJP. I told him to bring these MLAs to me, let’s discuss this. BJP treated us badly, didn’t honour promises. Many of the rebels have cases filed against them. So if they go with BJP, they will become clean, if they stayed with us, they will go to jail. Is this a sign of friendship?” Thackeray asked.

    “If a Shiv Sena worker is going to become a chief minister, you should go (with the BJP). But if you are, after all, going to become a deputy chief minister, you should have told me, I would have made you deputy chief minister,” he said, apparently referring to Shinde.

    ALSO READ| Eknath Shinde leaves Guwahati hotel in SUV, returns in cop’s private car

    If Sena workers felt that he was incapable of running the party, he was ready to resign as party president, Thackeray further said.

    “Shiv Sena is an ideology…BJP wants to finish it off because they don’t want to share the Hindu vote bank with anyone,” he said, adding that late Bal Thackeray had initiated the alliance with the BJP only to avoid a split in Hindutva votes.

    “The rebel group has no option but to join the BJP, and even if it succeeded in forming the government, it will not last long because many MLAs among them are not really happy. The rebels will not be able to win the next election,” Thackeray claimed.

    Hitting out at Shinde and BJP, he dared them to try and lure away the Shiv Sena’s voters. “You have taken away those who got elected. But if you have the courage, try and take away those who got you elected. Those who want to leave are free to go openly….I will create a new Shiv Sena,” he said.

  • Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde leaves Guwahati hotel in SUV, returns in cop’s private car

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Perhaps feeling bored after staying put at a hotel in Guwahati since Wednesday, Eknath Shinde on Friday went out on an outing to an undisclosed location in the city. The sudden departure of the Shiv Sena leader, who is leading party’s rebel MLAs, triggered speculations that he was Maharashtra-bound. But he returned two and half hours later.

    He had moved out of the five-star Radisson Blu in an SUV, accompanied by Assam BJP MP Pallab Lochan Das. He returned in a “multipurpose” private car of a senior police officer. Das was not accompanying him now.

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    Mystery shrouds over the place in the city that Shinde visited. A Sena MLA told journalists outside the hotel that Shinde had gone out to offer his prayers at the Kamakhya temple. The same, however, could not be confirmed from the temple authorities. “I am sick. I absolutely have no idea about it,” the temple’s chief priest Kabindra Prasad Sarma told this newspaper. Some others at the temple also expressed ignorance.

    The ruling BJP ministers, MLAs, leaders, as well as the state machinery, are maintaining a stony silence on the Sena matters. “Things are being monitored at the highest level from Delhi. As such, nobody is opening up,” a source from the RSS said.

    The hotel, where the MLAs are holed up, has been virtually turned into a fortress with a posse of policemen guarding it round-the-clock and kept out of bounds of people.

    The “Laxman Rekha” for media persons, who have come from different states including Maharashtra, has been drawn at the hotel’s entrance, some 150-200 metres away. Lunch is served to them by the hotel. Nobody knows the sponsor.

    Only a select few, including BJP MPs, ministers and MLAs, have access to the hotel. It is not entertaining fresh bookings. Seventy rooms were booked for the MLAs for seven days. The tariff for seven days, sources said, is Rs 56 lakh. The total cost, including food, was estimated to be Rs 1.12 crore.

    A Shiv Sena worker, believed to be loyal to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, and several protesting Assam Congress leaders were picked up by the police from outside the hotel on Friday.

    Holding a placard, Sanjay Bhosale, who claimed he is the deputy chief of Shiv Sena’s Satara district unit in Maharashtra, was appealing to the Sena rebels to return to Maharashtra and reconcile with Uddhav. But the police picked him up and took him to a police station.

    A police officer told journalists the person was detained for interrogation. “We don’t know who he is and where he has come from. It’s now a sensitive area and we have to ensure the security of everyone. So, we will talk to him lovingly at the police station and find out his details,” the police officer said.

    The Congress leaders were detained for staging a protest outside the hotel. The Congress said its state chief Bhupen Borah had written to Shinde earlier in the day requesting him to leave the state along with the fellow MLAs in Assam’s greater interest.

  • Maharashtra crisis: Secrecy is buzzword at Guwahati hotel where rebels are controlling MVA’s fate

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: All eyes are fixed on a luxury hotel in the outskirts of Guwahati, from where Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde and his coterie of MLAs are manoeuvering the fate of the Maharashtra government, but its tall gates are bolted tight from within and the happenings inside are shrouded in secrecy.

    A hotel staff told PTI that the hotel is not making any fresh bookings for the next one week as ”we are fully occupied”. Asked whether any booking can be made for any day after the next week, he said that he could comment on that.

    Even before the employee could be asked about the activities of the MLAs inside the hotel, he said, ”Please, do not question me about them. I cannot say anything related to them”. The hotel has 196 rooms and during an online search for bookings during the next few days, the response was: ”There are no available rooms for these dates.”

    ALSO READ| Police in Maharashtra on alert as Shiv Sena workers expected to take to streets

    Another hotel staff said that it is booked as the four-day Ambubachi Mela at the famed Kamakhya Temple atop the Nilachal Hills has begun. A huge posse of policemen has been posted in and around the hotel with senior police officers seen managing the security bandobast.

    Top police officials, too, remained tight-lipped about the guests inside the hotel and tight security arrangements. Media persons are camping outside the hotel since Wednesday when the Maharashtra politicians reached here but none have been allowed to go inside the hotel.

    The Congress staged a demonstration near the hotel during the day asking Shinde and other MLAs to leave the state which is reeling under devastating floods which have claimed 108 lives and affected a population of nearly 46 lakh.

    Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma earlier said there should not be any reason for controversy regarding their visit. He said, “We welcome all tourists to visit the state now as we need funds to deal with the devastating floods. Why should we turn away Goddess Lakshmi when most of our hotels are empty or have low occupancy?”

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    Shinde and the other legislators have been staying at the hotel since Wednesday morning after they arrived from Surat by a chartered flight. They were received at the airport by BJP MP Pallab Lochan Das and legislator Sushanta Borgohain.

    The Maharashtra MLAs were driven to the hotel in three buses of the Assam State Transport Corporation amid tight security. The Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra is facing a crisis following the dissidence of a section of its MLA led by Shinde.

  • Uddhav Thackeray government’s fate will be decided in Assembly: NCP chief Sharad Pawar

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: NCP president Sharad Pawar on Thursday said the fate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra will be decided on the floor of the Legislative Assembly, and the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress coalition will prove its majority in a trust vote.

    Addressing a press conference amid the turmoil caused by the rebellion by Sena minister Eknath Shinde and several Sena MLAs, Pawar also asserted that the BJP has played a role in the crisis that has befallen the Uddhav Thackeray-led government.

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    “The fate of the MVA government will be decided in the Assembly, not in Guwahati (where the rebels are camping). The MVA will prove its majority on the floor of the House,” Pawar said. He was replying to a question whether the MVA has been reduced a minority as the Shinde-led rebel faction has claimed the support of 37 Shiv Sena MLAs and ten Independent legislators.

    Asked about deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s statement that he did not see the BJP’s role in the rebellion within the Sena, Pawar said he did not agree with his nephew. “Ajit Pawar may have said so because he does not know BJP leaders from outside Maharashtra. I know them. Even Eknath Shinde has said a national party has assured him of all assistance,” Pawar said.

    As other national parties like BSP, CPM, CPI, Congress and NCP have no role to play in destabilizing the MVA, Shinde was referring only to the BJP, he said. The rebel MLAs will have to come back to Mumbai and face the Assembly, he said, adding that BJP leaders “from Gujarat and Assam will not be coming here to guide them”.

    ALSO READ| ‘We stand by CM Uddhav Thackeray’: NCP to support crisis-hit MVA

    Pawar also refuted allegations by rebel Shiv Sena MLAs that they faced difficulties in getting funds for their constituencies as the finance ministry, which is controlled by NCP’s Ajit Pawar, discriminated against them, and the Sena has given up its Hindutva ideology. “All these are excuses, some of these MLAs are facing probe by central agencies,” he said.

    The NCP chief also said that the rebels will have to face consequences, recalling that when Chhagan Bhujbal defected from the Shiv Sena to join Congress in the 1990s, all his supporters except one lost the Assembly election. ”These rebels will face the same fate,” Pawar said.

    On Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut’s Thursday’s statement that the Sena was ready to quit the MVA if the rebels relented, Pawar said the statement was made to bring them back to Mumbai.