MUMBAI: After reports that disgruntled Shiv Sena legislator Abdul Sattar had resigned on Saturday morning, the party went into damage control mode and pursued Sattar. The Sena later claimed that the MLA had expressed his displeasure but not resigned from the ministry. Arjun Kothkar, former Shiv Sena minister was tasked with pacifying Sattar. Sattar and Kothkar had a closed-door meeting in Aurangabad and then called senior Sena leader Eknath Shinde and CM Uddhav Thackeray.
“Sattar has not resigned. He has spoken with the CM and our party president. He has scheduled a meeting with him on Sunday in Mumbai where all disputes will be resolved amicably. People should not believe in rumours,” Kothkar said. However, Sattar refused to speak on this issue. A close aide of Sattar said that the MLA had been promised a ‘cabinet berth’ by Uddhav Thackeray but was given an MoS position. He added that the senior Aurangabad leader was likely to receive a less important portfolio as well.
Expressing his displeasure, he said, “The injustice prompted him to quit the Thackeray government.” Uddhav Thackeray has already been allotted offices and bungalows to his cabinet colleagues but the departments are yet to be announced. The growing differences in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government are delaying the allocation of ministries. Sattar was a Congress legislator in Sillod from the Marathwada region.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he joined the Shiv Sena and was elected as MLA. Reacting to the row, Pravin Darekar, Leader of Opposition, in the State Legislative Council, said, “The three-party governments will not be a stable government. People had voted in favour of BJP and the Shiv Sena, but the Shiv Sena had not only cheated the BJP but the mandate of the people as well.”
Earlier, another Shiv Sena MLA Bhaskar Jadhav, Congress MLA Amin Patel, Kailash Gorathad, NCP MLA Prakash Solunke had expressed displeasure after being excluded from the Thackeray’s cabinet. The list of disgruntled leaders seems to be growing with each passing day. On Saturday, an angry Congress MLA from Jalna Kailash Gorantyal said he will resign from party posts along with several office-bearers and workers after not being made a minister in the Maharashtra government.
Short-lived govt BJP Rajya Sabha MP Narayan Rane said the Uddhav Thackerayled government in Maharashtra will be “short-lived”. Targeting Thackeray, he said the Sena chief did not have any administrative experience