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MVA crisis: Surat hotel turns into fortress for Sena MLAs
A five-star hotel in Surat housing rebel Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde and other MLAs has turned into a fortress with nearly 400 policemen guarding it since early Tuesday morning.
A five-star hotel in Surat housing rebel Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde and other MLAs has turned into a fortress with nearly 400 policemen guarding it since early Tuesday morning.
Shinde and the legislators arrived at the hotel on Dumas Road on Monday night, after the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government suffered a setback in the legislative council elections.
Subsequently, 300 to 400 policemen took positions inside and outside the hotel premises and put barricades on both entry and exit points to prevent any “unauthorised” person from entering the property from the main road, people familiar with the developments said.
It was not immediately clear whether the MLAs were flown in or they arrived in Surat by road from Mumbai. One MLA was reportedly feeling unwell and a doctor was called at the hotel to attend to him, the people cited above said.
A senior Gujarat BJP leader said the number of MLAs camping at the hotel gradually increased as more legislators arrived during the day.
“The total number of MLAs include one independent legislator,” the BJP leader said, seeking anonymity.
The BJP leader also ruled out the party’s role in the Maharashtra political crisis.
Meanwhile, some MLAs reportedly tried to leave the hotel but were persuaded to stay back, the people cited above said. The option of shifting the legislators from Surat to a resort near Sanand in Ahmedabad is being considered, they added.
Milind Narvekar, a close aide of Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, arrived at the hotel around 4.30 pm. He was escorted by Gujarat Police from the airport to the venue.
“On entering the hotel, Narvekar called upon Shinde. Shinde met him at the hotel lobby. They talked for some time after which Shinde went back to his room,” one of the people said. The details of their conversation were not immediately known.
