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Mumbai, Nov 19 (IANS) A day after most of the Shiv Sena ministers in the BJP-led grand alliance government skipped the cabinet meeting, Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey on Wednesday claimed that some ministers and around 20 MLAs from the ruling faction are in touch with the party.
Speaking to IANS, Anand Dubey said, “There is an old saying: If you sow an acacia tree, you cannot expect to eat mangoes. The BJP colluded with Eknath Shinde to topple our government. The impact of that betrayal was visible in yesterday’s cabinet meeting, where more than half a dozen ministers were absent due to resentment.”
He said that rift is increasing within the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra.
He told IANS, “The BJP has a double engine government and agencies like ED and CBI are with them. This has weakened the Shiv Sena faction. There are fears of a major rift. According to our sources, some ministers and 20 MLAs from the Shiv Sena faction are in touch with us. However, we are not taking any decision right now because it is important to verify their loyalty this time. Ahead of the municipal elections, this growing rift is becoming evident. This is the message being sent among the people. That those who do wrong to others ultimately have to suffer the consequences.”
Dubey said the government may still have the numbers, but internal tension remains.
He said, “Even if Eknath Shinde’s MLAs leave, Ajit Pawar is still part of the alliance. But the relationship between Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis is not as bitter as the one between Shinde and Fadnavis. Eknath Shinde’s only ambition is to replace Fadnavis and become the Chief Minister, but Fadnavis will never let that happen. This is why Shinde often visits Delhi to meet Amit Shah and to form his own front. Let’s try.”
On social media, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Aditya Thackeray on Tuesday criticized the alliance, calling the absence of ministers from the cabinet meeting “worrying”. He claimed that Shinde Sena did not attend the meeting because it was angry with the BJP over seat allocation in the elections and feared that the party was trying to divide their faction.
Aditya Thackeray had said, “But boycotting the cabinet meeting for your own selfish reasons is an insult to Maharashtra and its people.”
“Cabinet meetings are meant to address people’s issues and not to settle minor internal disputes,” he said.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra includes the BJP, Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
–IANS
JK/DPB