Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut addresses a press conference at Shiv Sena Bhawan, in Mumbai, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday alleged that a BJP leader and Union Minister has threatened NCP supremo Sharad Pawar for making attempts to save the MVA government in Maharashtra.
“He (Pawar) is the son of Maharashtra. They are threatening him. Modi ji, Amit Shah, have you heard? Your minister is threatening Sharad Pawar – do you support such threats? Maharashtra wants to know,” the outspoken Sena leader said without naming the Union Minister.
“A Union Minister threatened that if Sharad Pawar tries to save the Maha Vikas Aghadi, he will not be allowed to go home, he will be stopped on the road. If this is what the BJP is doing then you declare it. Whether the government stays or goes, such language for Sharad Pawar is unacceptable,” he had tweeted in the morning.
Raut said this while referring to Union Minister Narayan Rane’s comment that Sharad Pawar was issuing threats to rebel Sena MLAs and stated that there will be consequences if they are harmed in the Maharashtra Assembly. Rane had quit Shiv Sena in 2005 and joined the Congress. He later joined the BJP.
Raut is among the few Shiv Sena leaders who are still with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray after a revolt by senior leader Eknath Shinde and others plunged the MVA government (an alliance of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) in Maharashtra into a crisis.
Raut, however, admitted that the party’s numbers in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly have dwindled, but expressed confidence that the rebel MLAs will support the MVA combine during the floor test.
“Figures can change any time,” he said, adding that rebel MLAs will face the real test of their loyalty towards the party when they return to Mumbai.
Shinde is currently camping with more than 40 MLAs of the Sena and around 12 independents at a hotel in Guwahati.
Shinde is demanding from Uddhav to exit an unnatural alliance and join the ranks again with the BJP to form a stable government. Notably, the Sena had in 2019 quit the BJP-led alliance soon after the declaration of the Assembly election result (even though the alliance secured a comfortable majority in the 288-member House) and sided with then arch-rivals NCP and Congress.
READ MORE: Who’s to be blamed for Shiv Sena’s monsoon of woes – Uddhav Thackeray?
READ MORE: Shiv Sena seeks disqualification of 12 rebel MLAs including Eknath Shinde