Maharashtra rebel leader Eknath Shinde on Thursday tweeted a letter by Aurangabad MLA, Sanjay Shirsat, that, according to him, sheds light on the grievances of the legislators who are upset with the NCP-Shiv Sena-Congress combine. The letter comes a day after chief minister Uddhav Thackeray broke his silence on the crisis and said he was ready to quit if the MLAs wanted him to.
While several questions remain unanswered about the discontent that pushed Shinde and more than 30 MLAs of the Shiv Sena to plunge their own party into one of the biggest political crises in the recent years, the letter shared by Shinde reveals some of the biggest claims made since the rebellion suddenly unfolded earlier this week.
In the letter, Shirsat has said that Thackeray's inner circle stopped the lawmakers from meeting the chief minister. Without naming the members of the 'coterie', the Aurangabad MLA referred to them as having been elected to the legislative council and Rajya Sabha.
Giving reference of the doors of the Varsha bungalow "being opened for commoners in the true sense" on Wednesday, he said that the MLAs waited to have access to Uddhav Thackeray. They were "made to wait at the gate for hours and Uddhav's confidantes would refuse to receive their calls," it reads. The legislators "could not meet the chief minister in mantralaya as he never went there", the explosive letter further claims. "However, in such times, leaders from the Congress and NCP would meet Uddhav, and get their projects sanctioned and post these photos with the chief minister on social media. The Congress and NCP are the "true opponents" of the Shiv Sena, Shirshat alleged.
{{/usCountry}}Giving reference of the doors of the Varsha bungalow "being opened for commoners in the true sense" on Wednesday, he said that the MLAs waited to have access to Uddhav Thackeray. They were "made to wait at the gate for hours and Uddhav's confidantes would refuse to receive their calls," it reads. The legislators "could not meet the chief minister in mantralaya as he never went there", the explosive letter further claims. "However, in such times, leaders from the Congress and NCP would meet Uddhav, and get their projects sanctioned and post these photos with the chief minister on social media. The Congress and NCP are the "true opponents" of the Shiv Sena, Shirshat alleged.
{{/usCountry}}Shinde has "helped these MLAs and help them evolve solutions," the letter reads.
On Wednesday, huge crowds erupted outside the Maharashtra chief minister's residence - “Varsha” - as he left for his family home - ‘Matoshree’ - in a symbolic gesture, where Sena patriarch Balasaheb Thackeray also lived.
Meanwhile, the Aurangabad MLA has also alleged that the "legislators were prevented by the chief minister from heading to Ayodhya at the last minute with Aaditya Thackeray." The Shiv Sena is yet to respond to these claims.
On Wednesday, after Uddhav's emotional speech, Shinde had hit back saying that Sena was in “an unnatural front” in the state.