JOIN US'Traitors' should not be able to roam on streets, says Sanjay Raut
Striking an aggressive note against the rebel faction led by Eknath Shinde, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said those who have betrayed the party leadership should not be able to move around.
"Traitors should not be able to roam on the streets," he said, addressing a rally at Alibag near here. Notably, Maharashtra chief minister and Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray earlier in the day had adopted a reconciliatory tone when he asked the rebels to return to the state from Guwahati where they are camping, and talk out the issues.
Raut, at the public meeting, also slammed the rebel MLAs' claim that their fight was for protecting the party's Hindutva moorings, pointing out that more than half of them were earlier with the NCP. "The rebel MLAs supporting Eknath Shinde are saying their cause is to protect the Hindutva envisaged by party founder Balasaheb Thackeray.
"Twenty-two of them have come from the Nationalist Congress Party. What Hindutva they are talking about? Those who opposed Balasaheb Thackeray ended up ruining their own career," he said. Raut also called the party MLA from Alibag, Mahendra Dalvi, who has joined the Shinde camp, a "bullock".
"When I called Mahendra, he said he was taking rest and disconnected the call. He was earlier with the NCP and also other political parties like the Peasants and Workers Party....I think it is time to change the bullock," Raut said. When the MVA coalition with Congress and NCP was being formed, Thackeray wanted to make Eknath Shinde chief minister, he further said. "If Shinde joins hands with the BJP now, he would become (only) a deputy chief minister," the Sena MP said.
Before the 2019 Assembly elections, Thackeray had demanded "50:50 formula of portfolio sharing including the top post", Raut said. "It was the BJP which opposed it, hence Shinde lost the opportunity to become the chief minister of Maharashtra," he claimed.
Then BJP chief Amit Shah had promised to share the chief minister's post with the Sena but later broke the promise, Raut alleged.