Sena rebels will ‘regret’ move, but free to ally with BJP: Raut
Mumbai, June 30: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said rebel MLAs have chosen their own way and there would be no hindrance from the party in the path of the dissidents associating themselves with the BJP as he once again targeted the breakaway group, whose revolt last week brought down the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
He also tweeted an image of a man in a white kurtapyjama, who is presumably dressed like Uddhav Thackeray, with blood oozing from a wound on his back. “This is exactly what happened,” Mr Raut tweeted, alluding to the dissidents who switched sides.
While chairing his last Cabinet meeting as chief minister on Wednesday, Mr Uddhav Thackeray, who is also the Sena president, said he was betrayed by his own people. Mr Raut said the Sena, which headed the MVA government, will play the role of a constructive opposition to the new dispensation.
Talking to reporters a day after Mr Uddhav Thackeray resigned as the chief minister following a rebellion led by Thane strongman Eknath Shinde that brought down his government, Mr Raut said the dissident leaders will “regret” their decision to part ways with the Shiv Sena.
Mr Raut said he will also go to the Enforcement Directorate’s office here on Friday in response to the summons issued to him by the agency in a money laundering case and clear his position.
“You (rebel leaders) will regret this. Eknath Shinde (the leader of the rebel MLAs) was a staunch Shiv Sainik and worked for the party for many years. Be it (MLAs) Gulabrao Patil, Sandipan Bhumre, and any other (who are in the Shinde camp) who worked for the party and struggled for it, they have chosen their path,” he said.
Mr Shinde has claimed the support of 39 of the 55 Sena MLAs. “We will not create any impediment in their path. They can have their association (with the BJP). Now our paths are different. We will work as a constructive opposition,” he said. —