Rebel MLA Uday Samant hits out at Uddhav camp; 'Congress & NCP trying to end Shiv Sena'

Rebel MLA Uday Samant on Tuesday released an unsparing message for the Shiv Sena urging them to reconsider their alliance with Congress and NCP. In a video message shared by Eknath Shinde on Twitter, Samant alleged that the Congress and NCP were trying to 'end' Shiv Sena, and there was a need to understand the conspiracy.

"I am still in Shiv Sena. I have come to Guwahati as I am fed up with the conspiracy of the allies to weaken the Shiv Sena party for the last few days. I support Eknath Shinde Ji. He is trying to save the Shiv Sena. I want to appeal to Shiv Sainiks to not fall into the trap of misunderstandings. Two parties (Congress and NCP) have an evil eye toward Shiv Sena, Uday Samant alleged.

"Eknath Ji is trying to protect Shiv Sena from this evil eye. By rejecting Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati's candidature in the Rajya Sabha elections, the party decided to send a true Shiv Sainik to the Rajya Sabha, but the allies tried to prevent him from getting elected in that election as well. They (NCP and Congress ) are trying to end Shiv Sena. That is why we have decided to go with Eknath Shinde who is carrying forward the Hindutva Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray intended," he added.

MVA government plunges into crisis

The Maharashtra government plunged into a crisis on June 21 after senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and other party MLAs went incommunicado and went to the Le Meridian hotel in Surat. While the rebels urged Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray to sever ties with NCP and Congress and return to the NDA fold, the latter has refused to accept this demand following which the camp moved base to Guwahati.

As the rebels continue to be holed up in a Guwahati hotel, Shiv Sena filed a petition seeking the disqualification of 16 party MLAs. Subsequently, they challenged the disqualification proceedings and Eknath Shinde's replacement as the Legislative Party leader in the SC.

On Monday, the Supreme Court's put the disqualification of the 16 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs on hold till July 12. The time for rebel MLAs to respond to Deputy Speaker's notice has been extended till July 12, 5.30 PM and the top court has asked the Maharashtra government to protect the life and properties of all 39 MLAs and their families.