Shiv Sena lawmaker Nitin Deshmukh has claimed that party rebels mistreated him after forcibly taking him to Surat as he returned to Maharashtra on Wednesday and pledged support to embattled chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. He said he was unaware of any revolt when he accompanied the Eknath Shinde-led group.
“As Shinde is my colleague and a senior Cabinet minister, I accompanied him. When I realised what the rebels were up to, I protested at the hotel in Surat hotel [where the rebels first went to]. I was dragged by around 20-25 people and admitted to a hospital,” he said after flying to Nagpur.
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Deshmukh, who represents Balapur (Akola district) in the state assembly, said he is a Shiv Sainik of Uddhav Thackeray and would remain his loyalist. He added whatever happened with him in Surat was a part of a conspiracy. “As I was not toeing their line, they wanted to do something wrong.”
Deshmukh’s wife earlier lodged a missing complaint on Tuesday in Akola after his phone was unreachable since Monday night.
{{/usCountry}}Deshmukh’s wife earlier lodged a missing complaint on Tuesday in Akola after his phone was unreachable since Monday night.
{{/usCountry}}Deshmukh left the Shiv Sena and joined the Congress along with Union minister Narayan Rane in 2005 before re-joining the Sena.
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Deshmukh retuned hours after Shinde pledged to take forward Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray’s legacy and claimed the support of 40 lawmakers as he arrived Assam from Surat along with other rebel lawmakers a day after plunging the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government into crisis.