Sena's Sanjay Raut calls rebels ‘living corpses’, has a post-mortem dig too
Maharashtra political crisis: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said the bodies of the 40 MLAs, led by dissident party leader Eknath Shinde, will be sent directly to the Assembly for post-mortem when they come back.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut on Sunday called the rebel lawmakers camping in BJP-ruled Assam “living corpses” and said souls were dead. Stating that the bodies of the 40 MLAs, led by dissident party leader Eknath Shinde, will be sent directly to the Assembly for post-mortem when they come back.
“They know what can happen in the fire that has been lit here,” Raut told reporters in Mumbai.
Read here for live updates on the crisis
The post-mortem dig was in response to the summons issued by Maharashtra Assembly deputy speaker Narhari Zirwal to 16 rebel MLAs, including Shinde, on the plea for their disqualification. Earlier, the Sena MP had shared a tweet wondering how can the rebel lawmakers can hide in Guwahati as they would finally have to return to Chowpatty (a popular beach in Mumbai).
Shinde's rebellion, with tacit help from the BJP, has triggered a survival crisis for the Uddhav Thackeray-led coalition government in Maharashtra.
The Sena is consulting legal advisors on its next course of action to deal with the rebellion.
Also read | Sena initiates legal action against Eknath Shinde and rebel MLAs
NCP supremo Sharad Pawar said Shinde and other MLAs were there with the NCP in the government for so long and never had any problem. “They didn't have any problems in the last 2.5 years. Why does it happen today only? It's just an excuse... We will support CM Uddhav Thackeray till the last minute,” Pawar said in Delhi.
“Eknath Shinde and other MLAs who've gone with him (to Guwahati) have asked for a new ruling alliance, but the NCP and Congress policy is clear to support the coalition government that we had formed. The MVA government is there (in Maharashtra) and we want to continue supporting it,” he added.
Meanwhile, another minister, Uday Samant, in the Thackeray cabinet has joined the rebel group in the northeastern state.
