Amid speculation of a rebellion in Shiv Sena (UBT), Union Minister Prataprao Jadhav claimed that the party's legislators were "angered" by senior leader Sanjay Raut's call for regional parties to merge with the Congress.
"Uddhav Thackeray faction's spokesperson, Sanjay Raut, himself said that all regional parties should join the national party. This statement angered the MLA, municipal councillor, and MP of UBT as they feared that they might be taken to Congress," Jadhav, a Shiv Sena leader, told ANI.
"This is our (Shiv Sena) foundation day. What have we done in the past years, and what will we do in the future? Earlier, our leader, Balasaheb (Thackeray), used to talk about this. Today, Eknath Shinde said that Maharashtra has to be developed. He talked about NDA, Mahayuti," he added.
Maharashtra Minister and Shiv Sena leader Gulabrao Patil accused Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray of "accepting Congress' ideology".
"Everyone knows that the day he formed an alliance with the Congress, he accepted its ideology. The day you became the Chief Minister, the Congress was with you. We did not say that your party will merge with the Congress; everyone knows who said this. You should think about saving your party," Patil said.
Further, Maharashtra Minister Sanjay Shirsat slammed Sanjay Raut for praising Congress.
"The kind of language the UBT faction spokesperson is using about the Congress for giving the country independence, the way they have praised the Congress. If their leaders don't understand these things, it's their misfortune. We won't talk about this... In 2019, they formed an alliance with the Congress, which Balasaheb never wanted," Shirsat said.
Earlier, Raut had suggested that the regional parties, including the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) - must reunite with the Congress.
As this happened, Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said he would step down from his position if the allegations levelled against him were proven true, but asserted that he would never allow the Shiv Sena to be handed over to "any thief".
Addressing party workers on the occasion of the Shiv Sena's 60th foundation day, Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, rejected speculation about a merger of the Shiv Sena (UBT) with the Congress, and accused the BJP of weakening people's faith in democracy through its style of politics.
The buzz surrounding "Operation Tiger" gained significant momentum after Shiv Sena MLC Chandrakant Raghuvanshi claimed that six MPs from UBT Sena have expressed confidence in Eknath Shinde and have already joined his faction.
The political landscape in Maharashtra is reeling under the tremors of a potential second split within the Shiv Sena, as the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) faction grapples with a deepening internal rift.
(With inputs from ANI)
