Shiv Sena dubs Eknath Shinde-led rebellion 'attack on Maharashtra'; squarely blames BJP

Facing the prospect of losing power in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena accused BJP of initiating 'Operation Kamala' in a bid to topple the Uddhav Thackeray-led government. Penning an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana on Wednesday, Executive Editor Sanjay Raut dubbed this as an "attack" on Maharashtra and claimed that his party MLAs were forcibly taken to Surat after the MLC polls results. In a warning to Eknath Shinde and the other rebels, Raut affirmed that the people of the state won't forgive the persons responsible for this crisis. 

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut remarked, "BJP leaders don't leave a single opportunity to topple the Maharashtra government. Two and a half years ago, the Ajit Pawar incident happened. It was not successful. Now the same unsatisfied souls are orchestrating 'Operation Kamala' using Eknath Shinde. They are filled with jealousy to an extent that they want to oust the government at any cost." 

"After winning the 10th seat in the Legislative Council on Monday, around 10 MLAs of Shiv Sena were forcibly taken to Gujarat. They were kept under tight security. When 2-4 MLAs tried to escape from there, they were beaten in a way that caused them physical harm. Akola MLA Nitin Deshmukh was beaten so much that he suffered a heart attack and had to be admitted to the hospital," he added. 

He elaborated, "It is not a question of what will happen to the Maharashtra government. The question is what will happen to those who attacked and cheated Maharashtra. What will happen to those who sowed the seeds of rebellion? Will the people forgive those who sided with unrighteousness under the garb of religion? These are the real questions. Shiv Sena is used to facing such crises." 

Rebellion in Shiv Sena

In a massive political development on Tuesday, senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and multiple other party MLAs went incommunicado and went to the Le Meridian hotel in Surat. At present, Shinde holds the portfolios of Urban Development and PWD (Public Undertakings) in the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharashtra. Sources indicated that these leaders are miffed with the Sena and are in touch with BJP. This assumes significance in the wake of several Shiv Sena MLAs cross-voting for BJP in the recently concluded MLC polls. 

At noon, the Shiv Sena supremo called a meeting at his residence in Mumbai in which only 19 MLAs including Aaditya Thackeray participated. Subsequently, Shinde was replaced as the Legislative Party leader by MLA Ajay Choudhari- an indication that the Sena is unwilling to accept any demands of the rebels. While Shiv Sena secretary Milind Narvekar and party MLC Ravindra Phatak met Shinde seeking a truce, the latter reportedly insisted that the party should ally with BJP once again. After reaching Guwahati earlier in the day, Eknath Shinde claimed that a total of 40 Sena MLAs are here.