Join hands with BJP, Sena MLA tells CM
MUMBAI : Facing Enforcement Directorate probe in alleged money laundering cases, Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik has requested chief minister and Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party once again to save its leaders from being harassed by central agencies.
Sarnaik, in a letter to Thackeray, also said that Sena’s allies Nationalist Congress Party and Congress are weakening the party and poaching its leaders. The letter has set tongues wagging in political circles, but a Sena spokesperson said the letter was written in personal capacity and is not the party’s stand.
The legislator, who represents Thane’s Ovala-majiwada constituency in the state Assembly, has faced raids by the ED on his properties. His son, Vihang, was also questioned by the agency in connection with the case.
“While being in power, the Congress-ncp is poaching our party workers and weakening our party…in this situation we must get close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in my opinion. At least, with that the undeserved harassment to people like Pratap Sarnaik, Anil Parab and Ravindra Waikar will stop, such is the feeling of many party workers,” Sarnaik wrote in his letter, dated June 20. He added, “Next year there are many corporation elections including Mumbai and Thane. Though the alliance [with BJP] is off, the personal relations between many leaders of the two parties are still intact. Before it breaks, I think we must get back together.”
Sarnaik claimed there are internal rumblings within Sena legislators that the work of NCP and Congress legislators are being completed in a jiffy, but even with a Shiv Sena chief minister, the work of its legislators is not happening. “By snapping alliance with the BJP, did the Shiv Sena forge Maha Vikas Aghadi for Congress-ncp to grow,” he said in his letter.
“The letter is written by one MLA, and it may be his personal grievance. It is just one voice and the party does not accept such practices. It is an alliance; one cannot expect things to happen their way. There is no issue within the party [on the alliance front]. There is no faction, he is an individual. He should not have gone public [with the letter]. He could have gone and met the party chief and should have given his views,” said Arvind Sawant, Sena MP and chief spokesperson.
Sanjay Raut, Sena chief spokesperson, did not comment on claims made by Sarnaik, but said that the important part of the letter was about harassment by central agencies. “He must have made some personal opinion on this, what is there to comment on that. Besides, there is an important part in the letter about “unnecessary harassment”, which is a big allegation. He may have written the letter after being fed up with the unnecessary harassment,” Raut said.
State NCP chief Jayant Patil said the letter by Sarnaik is unlikely to sour the ties between the NCP and Sena or create any trouble for the MVA government.
“I do not see that there has been anybody going from the Sena to Congress or NCP lately. I do not think that there will be any discomfort or clash between NCP and Shiv Sena due to this [letter]. If somebody has written a letter, we will have to see if there have been any instances in his constituency,” he said.