In yet another emotional appeal to rebel Shiv Sena MLAs stationed in Guwahati, party president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said he still cared for them and was ready to find a way out of the present situation by talking to them personally.
Meanwhile, in a significant development, a BJP delegation led by Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis, along with senior leaders Ashish Shelar, Chandrakant Patil and Pravin Darekar, late on Tuesday night met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and raised the demand to ask the Thackeray government to prove majority at the earliest.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr. Fadnavis said, “Around 39 Shiv Sena MLAs have stated that they no longer want to remain with the Maha Vikas Aghadi [MVA] government. It means that the present government has lost its majority in the House. We requested the Governor to call an Assembly session at the earliest.”
Read | Sanjay Raut out to finish off Shiv Sena on orders of NCP chief, say rebel MLAs
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The meeting happens few hours after Mr. Fadnavis returned from Delhi after holding talks with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda.
“I appeal to all of you to come and sit in front of me and clarify all confusion from the minds of Sena workers and people. There will surely be a way out and we will do it together. Do not fall prey to anyone’s false promises,” said Mr. Thackeray in an appeal to rebel MLAs.
To counter Mr. Thackeray’s statement that many of the MLAs were still in touch with the party, the rebel group leader Mr. Shinde challenged to name those MLAs. Throughout the day, the MLAs of the group released videos claiming that they were not in touch with any other leader and would follow Mr. Shinde.
The BJP, which still has been claiming that it has nothing to do with the internal feud, has reportedly called all its MLAs and affiliated independents to Mumbai on Wednesday.
Earlier, Mr. Fadnavis met with Mr. Shah and Mr. Nadda in New Delhi amid the unfolding crisis in the MVA government. According to sources in the BJP, Mr. Fadnavis, accompanied by lawyer and MP Mahesh Jethmalani and a couple of leaders first met with Mr. Shah and later called on Mr. Nadda. “Legal and political angles to the crisis in Maharashtra were discussed and the options before the party were gone over with a fine-tooth comb,” said a senior leader who did not wish to be named.
Here are the latest updates
BJP delegation led by Devendra Fadnavis meets Maharashtra Governor
After waiting in the wings in the over week-long political drama sparked off by Shiv Sena minister Eknath Shinde’s rebellion, BJP on Tuesday swung into action, with party leader Devendra Fadnavis meeting Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan in the night.
Fadnavis, who met top BJP leaders in Delhi earlier in the day, reached Raj Bhavan around 10 pm and met Koshyari.
“We handed over a letter to the Governor citing the present political developments in the state. We requested him to ask the state government to prove majority in the Assembly,” Fadnavis told reporters.
Meanwhile, the Raj Bhavan clarified that a letter circulating in social media purportedly asking the Uddhav Thackeray government to prove majority on June 30, was fake.
Uddhav again reaches out to rebel MLAs, says he still cares for them
In yet another emotional appeal to rebel Shiv Sena MLAs stationed in Guwahati, party president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said he still cared for them and was ready to find a way out of the present situation by talking to them personally. Meanwhile, with an eye on the power game in the State, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda in Delhi.
“I appeal to all of you to come and sit in front of me and clarify all confusion from the minds of Sena workers and people. There will surely be a way out and we will do it together. Do not fall prey to anyone’s false promises,” said Mr. Thackeray in an appeal to party’s rebel MLAs. - Alok Deshpande
PIL plea in HC seeks FIR against the Thackerays, Raut
A public interest litigation (PIL) petition has been filed in the Bombay High Court on Tuesday seeking registration of First Information Report (FIR) against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Cabinet Minister Aaditya Thackeray and Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut.
The PIL sought a direction to restrain all the three from making any statements against the members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) who are with rebel leader Eknath Shinde in Guwahati. - Sonam Saigal
CM Thackeray chairs cabinet meeting, first after taking away rebel ministers’ portfolios
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday presided over a cabinet meeting here.
It was the first cabinet meeting held after he divested rebel Shiv Sena ministers including Shinde of their portfolios.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, home minister and NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil said no political issues were discussed.
Another cabinet meeting was likely to take place on Wednesday to discuss pending issues, he added.
On Monday, Thackeray allocated the departments of rebel ministers to their colleagues in the cabinet. - PTI
22 rebel MLAs came to Sena from NCP, they can’t talk about Hindutva: Raut
Slamming the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs’ claim that their fight was for protecting the party’s Hindutva moorings, Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said more than half of them were earlier with the NCP.
Many rebel MLAs as well as their leader and senior Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde have said that they did not approve of the Sena president Uddhav Thackeray’s decision to sever the ties with the like-minded BJP and join hands with the NCP and Congress.
Speaking at a public rally at Alibag near Mumbai, Mr. Raut said, “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.
As per the Shinde faction, which is camping in Guwahati, it has the support of 40 of 55 Sena MLAs.
Mr. 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,” Mr. Raut said. - PTI
Fadnavis meets Nadda to discuss Maha developments
Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis met BJP president J.P. Nadda here on Tuesday amid the spiralling political crisis in the state threatening the three-party Maha Vikas Adhadi government’s existence.
Mr. Fadnavis is believed to have briefed Mr. Nadda about the unfolding political developments in the western state.
He arrived in the national capital earlier to discuss the issue with the party’s top brass, with 39 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs and at least 10 independent legislators from the state lodged in a five star hotel in Assam and working on overdrive to bring down the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray-led government.
The BJP has denied any role in the rebellion but Mr. Fadnavis is being seen to be playing a key role in working out a post-MVA dispensation which he may head with support from the Sena rebels. - PTI
Return and talk to me: Uddhav Thackeray to rebel MLAs
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray appeals rebel MLAs of his party camping in Guwahati to return to Mumbai and talk to him.
Here is his statement:
“You are stuck in Guwahati for last few days and everyday new information about you is coming out. Many of you are in touch with us and you are still a shivsainik by heart. Family members of many of you have conveyed your feelings to me and I respect those as a head of Shiv Sena. As a family head, I reiterate that still there’s time. I appeal all of you to come and sit in front of me and clarify all confusion from the minds of Sena worker and people. There will surely be a way out and we will do it together. Do not fall prey to anyone’s false promises. You will never get the honor that Sena bestowed upon you. We can find a way out of it if you come face to face. I still care for you as a Sena chief and the Sena family head. We will find out the way once we discuss it face to face.”
We are with Eknath Shinde: rebel MLA Uday Samant
Uday Samant, a key Sena leader in the Konkan region who joined the rebel camp in Guwahati on June 26, told reporters on Tuesday that they are not in touch with any leader or party office bearer other than Eknath Shinde “Don’t fall victim to misunderstandings,” he said.
“I am still with Shiv Sena. We have voluntarily come to Guwahati with Eknath Shinde, who sincerely carried forward the idea of Hindutva of Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray. At present we are not in touch with any leader or party office bearer except Eknathji Shinde,”, Mr. Samant said. —Alok Deshpande
BJP takes stock of situation
The Bharatiya Janata Party is weighing options as Shiv Sena rebels consolidate their position in a bid to topple the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, with former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis expected to meet the BJP top brass here to finalise the next course of action.
Sources said the BJP is expecting Sena rebels, who include 39 MLAs and have been joined by at least 10 independents in a Guwahati hotel, to make the first move by approaching Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
Independent MLA Ravi Rana claimed the independents are supporting the BJP and that the next chief minister would be from the BJP-led alliance Though the BJP sources expressed confidence that the Uddhav Thackeray government is on its last legs, the party is treading cautiously to avoid any wrong move like the one in 2019 .—PTI
Devendra Fadnavis leaves for Delhi
Amid the political turmoil in Maharashtra following a rebellion by MLAs of the ruling Shiv Sena, senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday left for Delhi along with a legal counsel, a party functionary said.
“Fadnavis has left for New Delhi with a legal counsel. He will be meeting some senior BJP leaders there,” the party functionary said.— PTI
Will return to Mumbai soon: Shinde
Asking the Uddav Thackeray-led group to disclose names of his group MLAs who are reportedly in contact with it, Shiv Sena’s rebel leader Eknath Shinde told he had 50 MLAs with him.
“They have come of their own accord and for Hindutva,” Mr. Shinde told reporters in Guwahati. — PTI
Sanjay Raut seeks more time to appear before ED; his lawyer submits letter to probe agency in Mumbai
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday sought more time to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering probe, an official said.
The ED had summoned Rajya Sabha member Raut on Tuesday for questioning in the money laundering probe linked to the re-development of a Mumbai ‘chawl’ and other related financial transactions involving his wife and friends. -PTI
Governor seeks details of govt orders issued from June 22-24
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has asked the State chief secretary to provide complete information of all Government Resolutions (GRs) and circulars issued by the state government from June 22-24, according to a letter by his Principal Secretary Santosh Kumar, a directive coming in the middle of political crisis triggered by a revolt in the Shiv Sena.
The direction to provide information comes after the departments --- mostly controlled by ruling allies NCP and the Congress ---- issued government orders for the release of funds worth hundreds of crores from June 22-24 for various development-related works. -PTI
