Sena’s Sanjay Raut tweets about counting daggers and those who gave a hug as MPs desert Uddhav
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde said on Tuesday that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has recognised Rahul Shewale as the Shiv Sena's floor leader in the Lok Sabha according to the requests of rebel MLAs.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday resorted to supposed rhyming to take a swipe against Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and the rebel camp led by him. Without mentioning anyone's name, Raut wrote about taking out daggers from the back and counting them only to find they were the same one who had earlier given a hug. He tweeted along with a picture of Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray and party's founder late Balasaheb Thackeray.
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“When the daggers removed from the back were counted, they were the same numbers as the ones who had earlier given a hug. Jai Maharashtra,” Raut's tweet, roughly translated from Hindi, read.
The Sena leader's post amid Shinde saying that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla had recognised Rahul Shewale as the party's floor leader in the Lower House of Parliament as requested by the rebel MPs.
“Shiv Sena MPs too have supported us in our stand to uphold ideals of Balasaheb Thackeray,” the Maharashtra chief minister said in Delhi.
As many as 12 Lok Sabha members of the Sena met Birla earlier in the day seeking to replace Vinayak Raut, a loyalist of Thackeray, as the floor leader of the House.
Shewale said that Uddhav was keen on realigning with the BJP, but went back on his words later.
The latest development comes after 12 of the 19 Sena MPs on Monday pledged support to Shinde's camp, whose rebellion led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra last month.
Meanwhile, the split within parliamentarians of the Sena has left Thackeray with only six Lok Sabha MPs, while Kalaben Delkar from Dadra and Nagar Haveli - the first MP of the party to be elected from outside the western state - is yet to give a clear picture regarding her support.
All three Rajya Sabha MPs - Raut, Anil Desai and Priyanka Chaturvedi - continue to stand by Thackeray.
(With inputs from agencies)
