MAHARASHTRA CRISIS
ing all powers to take action against those who have betrayed the party to Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray.”
A total of six resolutions were passed at the meeting, including one congratulating Thackeray for leading Maharashtra efficiently during the Covid-19 pandemic and for the development works carried out in the last two and a half years, Raut said.
The national executive condemned the rebel MLAs and said the party was firmly behind Uddhav Thackeray. Raut also quoted Thackeray as saying at the meeting that the rebels should not use Bal Thackeray’s name to seek votes.
“Balasaheb (Thackeray) and Shiv Sena are two sides of the same coin and except Shiv Sena, no one can use his name,” one of the resolutions read. The executive also resolved that the party will contest all coming local body elections and win.
Notably, Sena veterans Anant Gite and Ramdas Kadam, who are members of the national executive, were absent from the meeting. Eknath Shinde, whose rebellion has created an existential crisis for the Sena, was another member of the executive who was absent.
Earlier in the day, the Shinde faction named their group ‘Shiv Sena (Balasaheb)’, former minister of state for home and rebel MLA Deepak Kesarkar said. The rebel camp also held a meeting on Saturday to discuss their next course of action.
Referring to the Shinde group’s initial demand that the Sena revive its alliance with the BJP and sever ties with Congress and NCP, Kesarkar said, “The MLAs had told party president Uddhav Thackeray that we should stay with the party with whom we had contested election....When so many people voice the same opinion, there must be some substance in it.”
Asked whether the Shinde group will withdraw the support to the Thackeray government, Kesarkar said, “Why should we withdraw the support? We are the Shiv Sena. We have not hijacked the party, the NCP and Congress have hijacked it.”
He also said the Shinde group will prove its majority in the Assembly, but “we will not merge with any other political party.”
“We have decided to name our group Shiv Sena (Balasaheb) because we believe in his (Bal Thackeray’s) ideology,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mumbai police have deployed its personnel at the city-based offices of various political parties and leaders, including ministers, MLAs and MPs, and their residences as a security measure, an official said on Saturday.
The instructions to remain alert and to provide security was taken at a meeting chaired by Mumbai Police commissioner Sanjay Pandey, where senior officials including the joint police commissioner (law and order), additional commissioners and zonal DCPs were present, he said.
The prohibitory orders issued by the city police under CrPC section 144 in the first week of June, ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections, will continue to remain in place till July 10. It bans the assembly of five or more persons at one place.
“The city police personnel have been asked to remain alert and maintain law and order situation in the city. They have been instructed to coordinate with the local leaders of political parties and get in advance the information related to their programmes, movement and deployment of bandobast during the meetings and political events,” the official said.
Shiv Sena workers vandalised an office of rebel MLA Tanaji Sawant, party corporator Vishal Dhanawade, who was part of the action, said. “The ransacking of Sawant’s office is just the beginning and the offices of every traitor (rebel MLA) will be destroyed in the coming days,” Dhanawade said.
Sawant represents Paranda assembly constituency in Osmanabad district.
Talking about the incident, DCP Sagar Patil said, “Sawant’s sugar factory office was attacked between 10.30 am and 11 am. We are registering a case in this connection and instructions to take further action have been given to the local police officials.”
Separately, a video emerged which purportedly showed some people damaging the board outside the office of Shinde’s son and Kalyan Lok Sabha MP Shrikant Shinde, and raising pro-Uddhav Thackeray slogans.