Mumbai: Amid claims by Eknath Shinde camp that several lawmakers and legislators of Shiv Sena (UBT) are in touch with them, Rajan Salvi, former MLA and a long-time Thackeray loyalist quit the party and formally joined ‘Shinde Sena’ along with his supporters.
The switchover by three-time MLA into Shinde camp has ignited fresh speculations about more lawmakers switching their loyalties in days to come, as part of the ‘Operation Tiger’. Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders however have dismissed report of ‘sulking leaders and their likely crossover’ as mere rumours.
Aaditya Thackeray’s visit to the national capital on Thursday to meet Rahul Gandhi and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal to rally support for the INDIA Bloc gave more fodder to the brewing controversy.
Meanwhile, top SS (UBT) leaders speaking to IANS took derisive taunts at attempts to poach its legislators and called it a BJP plot to destabilise the Opposition in the state, ahead of Municipal elections this year.
Priyanka Chaturvedi scotched the speculations and hit out at Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, saying, “Ever since he became Deputy Chief Minister, after losing all his powers, he wakes up every morning and spreads such rumours.”
On Aaditya Thackeray’s visit to Delhi, she asserted that there was no internal discord within the party.
“All of us MPs were together, we had a good lunch, and yesterday Aaditya Thackeray met Rahul Gandhi. Today, he met Arvind Kejriwal. It was a positive tour, with a strong outreach showing our commitment towards the INDIA Bloc,” she said.
Mocking the ‘Operation Tiger’, she remarked, “These people are punctured tigers. Amit Shah has inflated them like lions, but the day he deflates them, they won’t know where they’ll end up. To those who thrive on rumours, I say again — wake up, you are being used.”
SS (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut also rejected the claims, stating that Shinde should focus on his own position rather than worrying about others, as he is “humiliated” by the BJP daily.
“Eknath Shinde is like an appendix in the Shiv Sena-BJP government — he should worry about when he will be removed,” Raut said.
Though SS(UBT) have outrightly rejected any chance or score for defections within it, those from the Shinde camp evaded clear answers when asked about the same.
Shambhuraj Desai, Maharashtra minister from Shinde-led Shiv Sena, dismissed the reports as ‘media hype’.
“You run such hyped stories. Have we ever said anything about an operation? During Parliament sessions, members meet for dinners, just like during Assembly sessions. That doesn’t mean an operation is underway,” Desai told reporters.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Aashtikar Patil Nagesh Rao also dodged questions on ‘Operation Tiger’ and said he wasn’t aware of any such plot.
(IANS)
