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Shiv Sena political turmoil: Eknath Shinde’s rebellion a farce or fact

Malhar Pandey
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Shiv Sena political turmoil: Eknath Shinde’s rebellion a farce or fact

On the 16th of November 2019, Maharashtra was shocked as Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut had just declared an alliance with the parties which were not just opposite on the ideological spectrum but against whom the elections had been fought. 28 November 2019 was the date on which Uddhav Thackeray was sworn as the Chief Minister betraying the mandate of the citizens of Maharashtra. The BJP led by Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray was the collation (mahaYUTI) for which the people had voted for. But, the opposition parties, specifically NCP were out of power for more than 5 years, which it hadn’t been since its inception in 1999. NCP had always been in coalition with INC, handling some or the other important portfolios.

Also, it was a fact that the NCP supremo was not able to digest the fact that a young politician from Nagpur had completed his 5 years in office as CM from 2014 to 2019. Considering all these circumstances, the backroom politics entered the scenario and the power hungriness to be the CM, led Shivsena into a political whirlpool, that it had not anticipated. 

The actions and the inactions

The stage was set, Uddhav Thackeray was offered the highest seat in the state and then Shiv Sena ‘Pakshapramukh’ went on to become the 19th Cheif minister of Maharashtra on a condition put forth by NCP and INC to compromise on the principles of Hindutva for which the Shiv Sainiks had even given their lives for in the past. Right from the very beginning of this government, the ‘Kadva’ or the ardent Shiv Sainik was not comfortable with the partners in this Aghadi sarkar.

They were not able to digest the fact that Shiv Sena now had to listen to the Congress, which had been its traditional political and ideological enemy since the very beginning. But, apart from all the ideological and political differences, the coalition partners, NCP and INC made sure to squeeze Shiv Sena as much as possible by not giving them the most important portfolios in the government. Home affairs, revenue, finance, PWD, water resources, and energy ministries were all distributed amongst INC (44) and NCP (53), even though they had less in legislative assembly than Shivsena (56). NCP had more cabinet ministers and ministers of state (15) than Shiv Sena (14).

The deal was not going the way Shiv Sena had anticipated. Seeing that Uddhav Thackeray had no background in governance, he was purposely kept direction less when the entire world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The haphazardness of handling the COVID-19 pandemic did not affect the image of any other minister but that of Uddhav Thackeray took a massive hit with the traditional voters of the BJP and Shiv Sena. Right from the Sushant Singh Rajput’s case, Kangana Ranaut’s case to handling Palghar Sadhu’s case impatiently, it was all heading in the wrong direction specifically for Shiv Sena. The commoners, who saw Shiv Sena as one of the strong voices of Hindutva, started losing faith in them.

The deeds of misgovernance were endless. The sitting home minister (NCP) Anil Deshmukh, found himself stuck in the heap of corruption charges, which eventually led him to resign from the post. This sent a wrong message to commoners, again, who saw Shiv Sena Pakshapramukh Uddhav Thackarey as a leader who did not have control over his ministers. People also saw how the Shiv Sena-led government was busy protecting a lifelong Hindu hater, Dawood Ibrahim’s close aid, minority affairs minister (NCP), Nawab Malik, in a case which had heaps of evidence which guaranteed his connection to Dawood Ibrahim.

The Shiv Sainiks who were born and brought up under the leadership of Balasaheb and Anand Dighe found this a betrayal of the principles for which Shiv Sena once stood. Apart from all these things, the two parties, NCP and INC, did not stick to alliance or Aghadi, when it came to local (Sthanik Swarajya Sanstha) elections. They fought independently, in which most of the time Shiv Sena lost miserably. The common-minimum program on which the Mahavikas Aghadi was standing only benefited the other two parties. Shiv Sena started losing its ground in the areas where it held great power once. 

The problem within the party

Balasaheb Thackeray’s Shiv Sena was not just built by Balasaheb himself but by countless karyakarta’s who gave their lives to build this party from scratch. After Balasaheb’s death, Uddhav Thackeray succeeded the throne but he made wrong choices when it came to choosing the people who advised him. The decision to break away from BJP (an alliance for more than 25 years) was administered by Sanjay Raut. Let’s say he was a key player in the formation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi. But, Sanjay Raut’s way of communicating, his ego issues and his habit of giving unwanted statements at the most unwanted times created a huge problem for the Shiv Sainiks as is evident from the stand taken by Shiv Sena Stalwart Eknath Shinde.

Apart from this, the novice Uddhav Thackeray’s interference in the party affairs made it uneasy for the party leaders to work efficiently. Sanjay Raut, Aditya Thakarey and a few others made Uddhav Thakarey unreachable to even those within the party. While all the things were happening, Shivsena leaders from various parts of Maharashtra, tried to communicate their problems with local NCP and INC leaders to the party high command, but the high command as mentioned earlier was not reachable and was busy continuing the PR activity to project Uddhav Thakarey as the best CM. The connection between the leader and the Karyakarta’s started dwindling. 

The Fadnavis factor

While all these things were taking shape, the Maha Vikas Aghadi seemed to have forgotten the fact that Devendra Fadnavis, the only chief minister to have completed 5 years successfully in office was now the leader of the opposition. A master strategist and one of the most erudite politicians currently in Bharat was there to question the moves and intentions of the Shiv Sena-led government. From day 1, Devendra Fadnavis was on the move. A few months after he became LoP, The pandemic hit the world.

Fadnvavis started touring nook and corner of Maharashtra, personally helping those in need, while Uddhav Thackrey was busy addressing people through his infamous Facebook lives. This again sent a wrong message to the Shiv Sainiks that the leader of their party and the state were not proactive when it was needed the most. One by one, Fadnavis presented before the legislative assembly and Maharashtra the corrupt practices of the current government, right from Sachin Waze’s issue, Anil Deshmukh’s 100 CR loot, Palghar Sadhu lynching case to Nawab Malik’s underworld connection. His articulateness left the Shiv Sena speechless. Remember, the cases were mostly against the NCP members, but Uddhav Thackrey was under the cross-hair of the Janata of Maharashtra. Fadnavis also saw that one of the two spaces for Hindutva was left vacant as Shiv Sena joined hands with the anti-Hindutva parties, and made all efforts to fill that space with all his fierceness and successfully filled it.

He made his speeches targeting the anti-Hindutva stand of the current Shiv Sena-led government, thus making the Hindutvavadi camp inside the Shiv Sena uncomfortable. Devendra Fadnavis made the Sangathan of BJP much stronger. He made full use of the rift within the Maha Vikas Aghadi to secure exceptional wins right from the Sthanik Swarajya Sanstha elections to Rajya Sabha and recently the Legislative council elections. BJP became stronger on all fronts, thus making the Shiv Sainiks think of their future careers in years to come after 2024 when MVA will be dissolved and Fadnavis will be back in power. 

Eknath Shinde’s rebellion: Farce or truth? 

The last month has been more or less like a roller coaster ride for Maharashtra. From the Rajya Sabha elections to the MLC elections, it has all been a great story so far for the BJP but a nightmare for MVA especially the Shiv Sena. In Rajya Sabha, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Pawar lost to BJP leader Dhananjay Mahadik. In MLC elections, BJP won the impossible 5th Seat of Prasad Lad. BJP had managed to get votes of the MLAs from the MVA, out of which it seemed to manage the highest were from SS, second highest from INC and least from NCP. This made the rift within the party much clearer.

The farce, know-all attitude of the CMs defacto advisor Raut, was open for the public to see and Shiv Sainiks to question. Eknath Shinde, one of the prominent leaders in Shivsena, left the state on the second day of the MLC election results along with a few MLAs to Gujrat, keeping all their phones unreachable, making a bold statement against the party leadership, especially Uddhav Thackeray. Uddhav Thackeray’s unreachable stance in the past, came to haunt him now. Eknath Shinde after a day and a half of all the drama, tweeted from his account that he and the MLAs with him are the true Shiv Sainiks of Balasaheb and Anand Dighe Saheb, who will not compromise with Hindutva for the sake of power.

As the days passed, more and more MLAs joined him in his mutiny against the Thakarey family to get out of power with MVA. His demand is to rejoin the Hindutva camp and stand-alone independently as a party in the upcoming elections. Many are seeing this through an emotional lens, but, seeing practically, Eknath Shinde and many other leaders found themselves nowhere in future of Maharashtra politics, as they foresaw the party’s end if they stayed with NCP and INC, in the current MVA government. This move just before, the BMC, PMC, TMC and the NMC elections, makes us question, whether this rebellion by Eknath Shinde is true or not! Shiv Sena has lost its hold on the grounds of Hindutva and it will take years for it to regain control again. As of now, the only game-changer for Shiv Sena is BJP and after seeing the decisiveness of Devendra Fadnavis, it seems he will make a move that no one has even thought of. We don’t know what the future of MVA beholds, but whatever is happening currently in Maharashtra, is a good sign for the days in Maharashtra to come.

Why were the houses of Ishtiaq Ahmed and Riyaz Ahmad demolished in Uttar Pradesh: What the UP govt said in court, exposing their lies

OpIndia Staff
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Why were the houses of Ishtiaq Ahmed and Riyaz Ahmad demolished in Uttar Pradesh: What the UP govt said in court, exposing their lies

On Wednesday, the Uttar Pradesh government submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court clarifying its stand on the demolition of illegal properties in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The government said that the demolition was carried out under Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1972, and had nothing to do with the riots.

The Court was hearing the petition filed by Jamiat-Ulama-I-Hind that sought directions to the Uttar Pradesh authorities to ensure that no further demolitions of properties are carried out in the state without following due process. The petitioner alleged that the government had deliberately razed down the properties of one particular community and had not even served notices before demolition.

The state government on June 23 stated that the petitioner has attempted to give a mala fide color to lawful action taken by the local development authorities as per the procedure established by law. It alleged that the applicant resorted to cherry-picking one-sided media reporting of a few incidents and extrapolating sweeping allegations from the same against the State.

“The said demolitions have been carried out by the local development authorities, which are statutory autonomous bodies, independent of the state administration, as per law, as part of their routine effort against illegal constructions, in accordance with the 1972 Act. Regarding two demolitions in Kanpur the house owners had admitted illegalities in the construction”, the UP Government added in an affidavit filed in response to a plea.

The plea that was filed by the Jamiat-Ulama-I-Hind on June 16 specifically highlighted some of the recent demolition cases and alleged that the state government had targeted people of one particular community and had demolished the properties of only those who were involved in the ‘protests’. Refuting strongly the allegations, the state told the Supreme Court that in case of the recent protests, the government was already taking stringent steps against the accused under the CRPC, IPC, UP Gangster and Anti Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, Prevention of Public Property Damages Act and Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damages to Public and Private Property Act, 2020.

“It takes strong exception to the attempt by the petitioner to name the highest constitutional functionaries of the state and falsely colour… the local development authority’s lawful actions strictly complying with the Act as ‘extra legal punitive measures’ against accused persons, targeting any particular religious community. All such allegations are absolutely false and are vehemently denied”, the state government was quoted.

The government meanwhile also referred to some of the recent demolition cases in Kanpur and Prayagraj and affirmed that the owners of the properties had agreed to the illegalities of the construction but had failed to appear for the hearing. Action by the Kanpur Development Authority and Prayagraj Development Authority was executed only after serving several legal notices.

Demolition of illegal property owned by Kanpur violence accused Mohammad Ishtiaq Ahmed

The Kanpur Development Authority (KDA) on June 11 demolished the illegal property owned by Mohammad Ishtiaq Ahmed who is a close aide of the Kanpur violence mastermind Hayat Zafar Hashmi. KDA administration officials, and Rapid Action Force personnel were also present along with the police force on the spot when the demolition was carried out. While many speculated that Ishtiaq Ahmed’s property was razed to the ground because of his connection with the Kanpur violence, the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday stated that Ishtiaq Ahmed was sent the demolition notice on April 19.

Elaborating the instance, the state government added that the Ishtiaq Ahmed in Kanpur had built commercial property on the residential land without the permission of the KDA. The KDA approved the residential property plan in the year 2016 but Ishtiaq Ahmed was constructing a commercial property there. He was issued a show-cause notice on August 17, 2020, to stop the construction and was asked to appear for a hearing on August 28.

As neither he nor his representatives responded to several similar notices, the property was sealed by the authorities and an FIR was lodged. The KDA then issued a demolition notice to Ishtiaq Ahmed and had given 15 days to demolish the unauthorized construction. Failing that, the KDA itself demolished the property on June 11.

After the demolition, one of the KDA officials had clarified that the act of property demolition had nothing to do with the Kanpur violence and that the owner was already sent a demolition notice. “This property belongs to some Mohammad Ishtiaq. The order to bulldoze this was passed already. Today’s date was set by the authorities to bulldoze the illegal section of this building. This is a routine procedure and the action is taken according to the same. Concerned officers who had listened to the matter had served them with prior notices. A residential plan was passed for this building but they were making a commercial one”, KDA Secretary Shatrohan Vaishya had said on June 11.

Another accused Riyaz Ahmed was constructing illegal petrol pump

Reportedly, the KDA had also demolished the under-construction petrol pump owned by Riyaz Ahmed on June 11. Ahmed who is also booked in the case of Kanpur violence had taken no prior permission from the authority for the construction of the petrol pump. He was issued several notices from February 23 to March 8 and the final demolition notice was issued on April 20 this year. As the accused or his representatives failed to respond to the notices, the KDA executed the demolition on June 11.

“In both the cases”, the state government said, “applications were filed by Ishtiaq Ahmed and Riyaz Ahmed on June 17 wherein they admitted the illegality and irregularity in the construction. Iftiaq’s son Iftikar had said that the non-compoundable portion of the construction would be demolished by the dependent himself, thus admitting the offense of illegal construction”, the government added in the affidavit on June 22.

Javed Ahmed had build office in residential land, was issued several notices

Further referring to the case of demolition of illegal property of Javed Mohammed in Prayagraj, the state said that he was issued a demolition notice in May and was asked to remove the illegal construction by June 9. The authority had also issued a notice on June 10 to Javed Mohammed to vacate the property that was unlawfully constructed. Javed Mohammed is the prime accused in the violence that erupted in Prayagraj former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s allegedly derogatory remarks on Prophet Muhammad.

According to the reports, the Javed Mohammed had constructed an office in the residential area without taking permission from the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA). The PDA noticed a marble nameplate with the name ‘Javed M’ installed on the boundary wall and a signboard showing ‘Welfare Party of India’ above the boundary wall of the property. The PDA has sent a show-cause notice and several similar notices from May 10 to May 24 and decided to demolish the property on June 12.

Severe violence erupted in the cities of Kanpur and Prayagraj in the first week of June after Islamists came out on the streets in protest against ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. They raised slogans against her and demanded her arrest. The rioters also pelted stones at the police officials and civilians disturbing the peace and law and order in the area. Several injuries were reported.

The UP Police later arrested Hayat Zafar Hashmi and his aides Ishtiaq Ahmed and Riyaz Ahmed as prime accused in Kanpur violence and Javed Mohammed from Prayagraj for planning the violence in Prayagraj. The state on June 22 refuted the allegations made by Jamiat-Ulama-I-Hind which claimed that the state had bulldozed properties of the accused of their involvement in the violence. The State asked the Court to dismiss the petition clarifying that the demolition of properties was carried out in accordance with the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1972, and had nothing to do with the riots.

YS Jagan Mohan Reddy govt launches free Drone Pilot training, placement program only for Christians and Muslims, BJP leader shares ad

OpIndia Staff
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YS Jagan Mohan Reddy govt launches free Drone Pilot training, placement program only for Christians and Muslims, BJP leader shares ad

Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, the BJP general secretary of Andhra Pradesh has taken to Twitter to share how the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy Govt, has allegedly launched a drone pilot training program, only for candidates belonging to the two minority communities. According to the poster shared by the BJP leader, the course is being offered by the Drone Institute of Technology (DIT) in Andhra Pradesh. The ad published inviting aspirants to join the offline course specifically mentions that the course will provide free training and placement only to Christian and Muslim candidates.

Questioning the Andhra CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s anti-Hindu bias, the BJP leader tweeted, “Everyone has the equal rights on the resources then why @AndhraPradeshCM has specifically kept training only for students of 2 communities? It could lead to communal tensions, Andhra gvt is doing very dirty politics with our students. They should take back this decision.”

As can be seen, the advertisement shared by the BJP leader states has the picture of CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on it along with the Emblem of Andhra Pradesh. It mentions, in rather bold letters, that the course has been developed to offer free training in drone flying and free placement subsequently, but strictly for Christians and Muslims only.

The poster also carries two numbers that aspirants can call on for registration or enquiry. However, when OpIndia tried to call, both numbers were constantly unreachable.

Poster shared by BJP leader

Notably, the opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh have always accused YS Jagan Reddy, a Christian, of spending huge on the services Christian community, with an eye on encouraging conversion activities, ever since he became the Chief Minister of Andhra.

Jagan’s anti-Hindu bias and his soft stance on conversion and the appeasement of a now-significant minority of Andhra Christians is an open secret. Experts have expressed their concerns regarding the spree of freebies doled out to the Christian communities by the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Andhra Pradesh government with an aim to encourage ordinary Andhra citizens to convert to Christianity.

In fact, last year, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) issued a notice to the Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh seeking a report regarding the action taken against the forceful conversions targeting the Scheduled Caste (SC) community in the state.

NCSC had taken cognisance after, the Hindu legal-activist group – Legal Rights Protection Forum and SC-ST Rights Forum, a non-profit legal activism organisation that works for Dalit rights, had, in January 2020 written a letter to National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) over rampant forced conversions activities by the Christian missionaries and Church.

In 2019, the Jagan government had hiked the financial assistance, which was being given to Christian pilgrims going to Jerusalem, from Rs 40,000 to Rs 60,000 for those with an annual income up to Rs 3 lakh. The assistance money given to those who are earning over Rs 3 lakh per annum has been increased to Rs 30,000.

In August 2019, Jagan’s government announced that they would provide an honorarium of Rs 5,000 per month to Christian pastors. The Andhra government is also working to launch housing schemes and financial assistance for the poorer sections of the Christian community. 

As per the 2011 Census, the Christian community in Andhra Pradesh accounts for about 1.4% of the total population, however, the number of followers of the faith is estimated to be higher in the state due to the rising conversion phenomenon.

‘We don’t want Uddhav Thackeray to quit’: What rebel Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar said while demanding return to ‘natural alliance’ with BJP

OpIndia Staff
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‘We don’t want Uddhav Thackeray to quit’: What rebel Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar said while demanding return to ‘natural alliance’ with BJP

On June 23, rebel Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar said in a statement that no one was demanding Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s resignation, but their demand was to return to the natural alliance that is with Bharatiya Janata Party.

Speaking to Times Now, Kesarkar detailed what was going on in Maharashtra. When asked as CM Thackeray was returning to Matoshree (personal resident of CM Thackeray) if there was any chance of saving the government, Kesarkar said, “The rebel never happened for the resignation of Uddhav Sahab. MLAs have some issues with the parties that we are in alliance with. Had those issued been resolved, this situation would never happen. I am still in Mumbai and attending all the meetings being conducted by Shiv Sena. Whatever issue has been raised in front of me, I have forwarded it to the CM.”

He added, “This is not the first time I have raised an issue with the parties in the alliance. I have been speaking it for over 1.5 years. My personal view is it is not a national alliance. There is no coordination between leaders from alliance parties and CM. If the coordination is not there, the state cannot progress.”

When asked why CM did not act on the issues raised by Kesarkar, he said, “My aim was to ensure coordination between Delhi and Maharashtra. There was a meeting in that direction, but we could not find a solution to the problem. The coordination should be good between the parties in the state and the central government, even if the party is in opposition. I had told CM that if our own house is burning, it should be taken care of first. It does not matter whom we alliance with.”

He further added that BJP should have been patient and not spoken ill of the Thackeray family. He said, “No one speaks ill of them. This family has done so much for the state. There were accusations against Aditya Thackeray that had messed up the situation.”

Speaking to Republic, he said, “I had been very firm on my stand that Sena should go with BJP in the alliance.” He further added there were Shiv Sena workers following him despite his firm demand to the General Secretary of the party not to indulge in such acts. He said, “I had told them to stop sending cars to follow me; otherwise, I have to take some action, but they were still there in the morning.”

He further added, “We never asked for his resignation but told him that the important ministries are with the ministers from parties that we are in alliance with. They are not releasing funds for the constituencies of Shiv Sena. We told him that it has to stop.” He said before leaving Mumbai, he personally had a word with CM. He said, “I have been saying this for a long. When PM and CM work together, the state prospers.”

The political unrest in Maharashtra

The political unrest in Maharashtra started after reports of cross-voting during MLC elections, where the BJP won five seats despite lacking enough numbers in the assembly. Eknath Shinde, along with other rebel leaders, went untraceable after the results. Later it was reported that the rebel leaders of Shiv Sena were lodged in a hotel in Surat, from where they shifted to Assam.

Uttar Pradesh: Police arrest Faisal, Shohil and Salman for beating a middle-aged Dalit man to death after he opposed molestation of a girl

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Police arrest Faisal, Shohil and Salman for beating a middle-aged Dalit man to death after he opposed molestation of a girl

An incident of molesters beating a middle-aged Dalit man to death has come to light in district Pilibhit of Uttar Pradesh. On June 22, the Police arrested Mohammad Faizan alias Bhura, Mohammad Shohil and Mohammad Salman alias Munna for allegedly beating a Dalit man identified as Raju to death after he opposed the molestation of a girl by the trio. They have been arrested based on the complaint of Raju’s wife, Ram Beti. The incident took place on June 16.

The trio has been booked under Sections 147, 149, and 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 3(2)5 of the SC/ST Act.

Series of events that led to the murder of Raju

As per the reports, the incident took place on June 16 in Madhaupur under the Amaria Police Station area in the Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh. The accused climbed on a terrace and molested a girl. Raju, who was a middle-aged Dalit man, tried to save the girl. Irked by the intervention by Raju, the trio beat him up. Raju, who got seriously injured in the attack by the trio, was rushed to the hospital for treatment. He succumbed to the injuries on June 18. Several people were detained by the Police in connection to the case for questioning.

Additional forces were called from three nearby Police Stations as tension prevailed in the area after Raju’s death. Raju’s wife filed a complaint against the Trio in Amaria Police Station and based on the complaint, the accused were arrested. As per reports, Police are looking for more people linked to the case. KK Verma, SHO Amaria, has promised strict action against the accused in the case.

Show of Strength of Shiv Sena rebel MLAs: 42 MLAs along with Eknath Shinde seen at Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati

OpIndia Staff
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Show of Strength of Shiv Sena rebel MLAs: 42 MLAs along with Eknath Shinde seen at Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati

As Uddhav Thackeray continues to lose MLAs to rebel leader Eknath Shinde, the rebel camp has released visuals of the MLAs staying at Radisson Blu Hotel in Guwahati as a show of strength. In the pictures, 42 MLAs from Maharashtra can be seen who are part of the rebel camp led by minister Eknath Shinde. These 42 MLAs include 35 Shiv Sena MLAs and 7 independent leaders supporting his cause.

In the video posted by news agency ANI, the leaders could be seen sitting together for a group photo in a show of strength. The leaders including bigwigs like Deepak Kesarkar and Pratap Sarnaik could be seen giving slogans in the support of Eknath Shinde and Balasaheb Thackeray. It is to be noted that in a recent letter published by Shinde on his Twitter, the MLAs complained of not getting their deserved share in the MVA government, among one of the reasons to defect from the Shiv Sena.

Yesterday, a total of Shiv Sena 34 MLAs signed a letter in support of Shinde, and now the number of party MLAs in Guwahati has gone up to 35. After the initial movement of MLAs led by Eknath Shinde from Surat to Guwahati, 7 more MLAs arrived in Assam, and the number has now increased to 42. Three leaders reportedly reached Guwahati this morning, while another four had already joined the camp Wednesday night.

The whole political unrest in Maharashtra started after reports of cross-voting during MLC elections, where the BJP won five seats despite lacking enough numbers in the assembly. Eknath Shinde, along with other rebel leaders, went untraceable after the results. Later it was reported that the rebel leaders of Shiv Sena were lodged in a hotel in Surat from where they shifted to Assam.

‘Why were we barred from going to Ayodhya?’ rebel Shiv Sena MLAs ask Uddhav Thackeray: Read full text of the open letter in English

OpIndia Staff
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‘Why were we barred from going to Ayodhya?’ rebel Shiv Sena MLAs ask Uddhav Thackeray: Read full text of the open letter in English

Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde has posted a letter on behalf of Shiv Sena MLAs who are part of his camp stationed at Radisson Blu hotel in Guwahati. Shinde, who has staged a rebellion with more than 40 Sena MLAs backing him, parted ways with the MVA government over the issue of Hindutva and upholding Balasaheb Thackeray’s legacy.

In a tweet, Eknath Shinde has shared a letter penned by Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat, drafted on behalf of the rebel MLAs supporting him. The letter notes down grievances of distressed Shiv Sena leaders who did not get their fair share during the ‘compromise’ while forming the Maha Vikas Aghadi with Congress and the NCP. It also states that while some MLAs were ready to accompany Aditya Thackeray during his recent visit to Ayodhya, they were barred to do so upon the order of Uddhav Thackeray.

Hitting out at Rajya Sabha ‘Chanakyas’

The letter by the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs has turned out to be an official confession as to why they revolted against Uddhav Thackeray. In the letter published by Eknath Shinde, the leaders have hit out indirectly at Sanjay Raut, holding him responsible for the lacklustre performance in the recently held Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections.

“The so-called Chanakyas who sidelined us and chartered the strategy for the Rajya Sabha and Vidhan Parishad elections have been exposed today. We had to plea before these people to meet you,” the MLAs say in the letter directed to Uddhav Thackeray. The rebel MLAs say that they were aggrieved over the fact that they never got to meet the CM in his residence, even after being from his own party.

The MLAs state that while any CM meets his party workers on the sixth floor of the Mantralaya, the question of Thackeray meeting them never arose since he never turned up there until now.

“You never met us, Mr CM!”

The MLAs note that while they came up with their grievances at Varsha – the official residence of the CM of Maharashtra, they were made to stand in long queues while Thackeray would eventually never turn up. “The Rajya Sabha leaders (indirectly hinting at Sanjay Raut’s supporters) had become the gatekeepers at Varsha and would never allow us to meet the CM,” the letter notes.

“Some of us have won our constituencies with 3-4 lakh votes. But we were being insulted on a daily basis by our own party workers,” the leaders noted. The rebel camp also asserted that they had many challenges before them concerning the allotment of funds, problems in the constituencies, and getting sidelined by Congress and NCP leaders including the officers under them. “We only had Shinde Saheb listening to us, and for our collective justice we requested him to make this move,” the rebel leaders noted.

“Why were we barred from going to Ayodhya?”

The letter states that while Ayodhya, Ram Mandir and Hindutva are on the agenda of the Shiv Sena, some of the leaders were told not to accompany Aditya Thackeray during his recent visit to Ayodhya. “Why did you dial us at the last moment while we were all set to visit Ayodhya?” the letter asked.

Maharashtra Minister Aditya Thackeray, alongside Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut and other leaders, visited Ayodhya on June 15. It is now being learnt that CM Uddhav Thackeray personally dialled some of the MLAs not to accompany Aditya Thackeray on his tour. “We had checked in with our luggage and were about to board the flight, At the eleventh hour, you dialled to bar us from visiting Ayodhya,” the leaders commented.

On preference given to NCP and Congress leaders

The Shiv Sena rebels have alleged that CM Thackeray gave preferential treatment to Congress and NCP Ministers in the government. “You met them, addressed their concerns, and they flaunted the money sanctioned by you for their causes. We were left nowhere,” the letter states. “Looking at all of this, the people in our own constituencies would ask us as to whose CM were you being?” The rebel leaders openly asked Uddhav Thackeray in a letter mincing no words.

The letter penned by Shirsat concludes by confessing that it was only Eknath Shinde who addressed their concerns. “He (Shinde) opened his doors for us in the times of this calamity. That is why we are supporting him,” the letter states.

The full English translation of the letter can be read below:

The doors of the Varsha bungalow truly opened to the public yesterday. It was a pleasure seeing the crowds at the bungalow. These doors were closed to us, the Shiv Sena MLAs, for the last 2.5 years. In order to enter the bungalow, us MLAs had to convince the coterie surrounding you, comprising of people elected to the Rajya Sabha and the Legislative Council, by our votes. This coterie ignored us while strategising for the recently-concluded Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections, the results of which were witnessed by the entire state. Despite the Chief Minister belonging to the Shiv Sena, Shiv Sena MLAs were never granted direct entry to the Varsha bungalow. The chief minister meets everybody in their office on the 6th floor of the Mantralaya. For us, the question of meeting you there didn’t arise either, since you never visited the Mantralaya.
After pleading with your coterie to let us meet you, for reasons such as developmental works in our constituencies, the coterie sent us a message that we were invited to the Varsha bungalow. However, we were made to wait for hours on the other side of the gate. The coterie never responds to or returns our calls.
Our question is, why are we, the Shiv Sena MLAs elected by an average of 3-4 lakh voters, subjected to such humiliating treatment by our own CM?
We were left to wallow in our misery. Your coterie never bothered to listen to our misery, let alone conveying the same to you. Eknath Shinde, however, left his doors open to us, and was the only person who listened to our complaints such as troubles in our constituencies, funds for works in our constituencies, bureaucracy, humiliation by Congress-NCP, etc.
Only and only Eknath Shinde listened to us, and constructively resolved these problems to the best of his abilities. Therefore, we forced Eknath Shinde to take this decision, for the sake of our just rights, at our insistence.
Hindutva, Ayodhya, Ram Mandir are the Shiv Sena’s agenda, right? Then why did you stop us from going to Ayodhya when Aditya Thackeray visited Ayodhya? You yourself called many MLAs, and told them over the phone to not visit Ayodhya. Myself and many of my associates had checked into the flights to Ayodhya at CSMIA. We were about to board the aircraft, when you called Mr Shinde to stop us from going to Ayodhya, and instructed him to bring back those who already have left for Ayodhya. Mr Shinde told us that the CM had called, telling MLAs to not go to Ayodhya. We checked out of the airport with our luggage, and came back home. No Shiv Sena votes were divided in the Rajya Sabha election, then why did you show such distrust in us during the Legislative Council election? Why were we stopped from visiting Ayodhya?
Sir, when WE were being denied entry to the Varsha bungalow, our real opponents, the INC and NCP, were regularly meeting you, getting works done in their constituencies, dangling the letters granting them funds, conducting groundbreaking and inauguration ceremonies, and posing for social media photos with you. Our constituents would ask us, that how is YOUR CM giving THEM the funds?
How are THEY getting their works done? You weren’t meeting us, so we would shudder to answer these questions posed to us by our constituents.
During these turbulent times, Eknath Shinde, the man who has preserved the Hindutva of Hon’ble Balasaheb Thackeray and Dharmaveer Anand Dighe, gave us invaluable support. We are with Eknath Shinde, on the trust that his doors were, are, and will always be upon to us, in our tough times.
We are writing this letter to you, as whatever you said yesterday, and whatever transpired yesterday, was all very emotional, and didn’t answer any of our fundamental questions.  

Thanking you,
Yours truly,
Sanjay Shirsat
(MLA-Sambhajinagar West)  

The translation has been taken from a Twitter user named DKMCooper with the handle @Shelbot27.

‘Stone-pelters were paid Rs 500-1000 each’: Arrested Baba Biryani owner Mukhtar Baba reveals how the Kanpur violence was engineered

OpIndia Staff
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‘Stone-pelters were paid Rs 500-1000 each’: Arrested Baba Biryani owner Mukhtar Baba reveals how the Kanpur violence was engineered

Mukhtar Baba, the owner of Baba Biriyani who was arrested on Wednesday for funding the Kanpur violence that erupted on June 3, has told the SIT that the stone pelters were offered Rs 500-1000 to indulge in violence. He also revealed how the entire plan to stoke communal violence in the streets of Kanpur over Nupur Sharma’s alleged ‘blasphemous’ remark, was hatched at his shop.

During his interrogation, Mukhtar Baba said that the June 3rd violence, wherein a mob of radical Islamists had unleashed mayhem on the streets of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, was pre-planned. He claimed that various responsibilities had been assigned to 15–16 youths tasked with organising the violence.

He further revealed how the organisers sat in his shop and watched the entire act of violence live on a video call. According to reports, during interrogation by SIT team in charge, Sanjeev Tyagi, Mukhtar Baba also gave several new names of miscreants who actively helped engineer the Kanpur violence.

It may be recalled that reports had also revealed that the children, who were used in the violence for stone-pelting and throwing petrol bombs were paid money and served biryani to take part in it. Following these reports, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) asked the Police to investigate the case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Baba Biryani owner Mukhtar Baba fed biryani to rioters and stone pelters

Notably, the Kanpur Police had nabbed Mukhtar Baba who was absconding since June 3, on June 21. Mukhtar Ansari had reportedly crowdfunded the violence and given huge amounts of money to Zafar Hayat Hashmi, the prime accused in the case. Reports mention that Mukhtar Baba, on the day of violence had also fed the rioters and stone-pelters with Biryani. However, his son Mahmood while talking to OpIndia refused to accept the claims.

Some of the local leaders meanwhile reported that Baba Biryani is illegally built on land that actually belongs to a temple and that Mukhtar and his accomplices had been plotting violence for a long time to maintain their illegal occupation.

According to the government records, the land on which the restaurant stands today belongs to the Ram-Janki temple. The main temple and 18 other Hindu shops were reportedly razed down to build the present Biryani restaurant.

Kanpur Violence

Days after BJP Spokeswoman Nupur Sharma received death threats for allegedly committing ‘blasphemy’ against Prophet Muhammad, severe violence erupted in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district with Islamists giving a call for a shutdown in the area to protest against Sharma. The protest turned violent as hundreds of Islamists joined the protest after the Friday prayers and began pelting stones at the Police and the civilians.

The Police later arrested more than 40 miscreants in the issue and razed down illegal properties owned by prime accused Hayat Zafar Hashmi and his associates. The Police also found incriminating chats from Hashmi’s phone and probed his bank accounts to trace the funds received from the Gulf countries to allegedly back the violence.

Shiv Sena carries out night long search to trace rebel minister Gulabrao Patil: How he planned his great escape to join Eknath Shinde

OpIndia Staff
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Shiv Sena carries out night long search to trace rebel minister Gulabrao Patil: How he planned his great escape to join Eknath Shinde

Maharashtra’s political drama is beginning to surpass any Bollywood film in terms of entertainment with the tug of war between Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and rebel minister Eknath Shinde intensifying with every passing second. In its desperation to retain power, Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sainiks are doing all in their power to prevent any party rebel from leaving the camp, but reports of MLAs going incommunicado are springing up every other second.

According to reports, many of the party’s ‘street enforcers’ have been caught off guard as they face off against their own party members as several leaders when missing to join Eknath Shinde on Monday, June 20.

In one such dramatic incident that took place on Tuesday night, Minister of Water Supply and Sanitation Gulabrao Patil dodged the Shiv Sainiks, who kept hunting for him the entire night, to reach the Eknath Shinde’s camp currently lodged in Guwahati, Assam.

According to reports, a top leader of the Uddhav Thackeray camp summoned his workers in south Mumbai to deliver orders from top brass asking them to track down Patil at any cost. The Shiv Sainiks from South Mumbai led by Shakha Pramukh Pandurang Sakpal immediately sprung into action and launched a massive manhunt through the night to track Patil, reported Indian Express.

In what transpired, the Maharashtra Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil was unreachable on Tuesday. The entire troop of Shiv Sainiks immediately launched a search operation to trace him. The Shiv Sainiks reportedly first went to the hotel where the MLAs were staying, only to find him missing from there. The party workers, under a lot of pressure from the top brass, kept roaming the streets of South Mumbai the entire night. They were asked to catch hold of Patil at any cost and make him speak to Uddhav Thackeray.

However, when the Shiv Sainiks had no luck with finding him, they decided to camp outside Patil’s bungalow in South Mumbai, where he ultimately caught hold of him on Wednesday morning.

“We got a call at 11 pm and were told to look for Patil. We looked for him everywhere possible, including the St Regis hotel in Lower Parel, but as we could not find him, we decided to camp near his official residence in the morning. We managed to get hold of him around 8.30 am on Wednesday,” said a party worker.

As soon as Sakpal saw Patil, he insisted that the latter speak to Uddhav Thackeray, who he said was been trying to get in touch with the minister since Tuesday evening.

Sources in the party said, according to Indian Express, that Patil misguided the Shiv Sainiks, as he told them that he already had a word with the party chief. “We were told that he has some work in Mantralaya and will go to Varsha bungalow to meet the CM after that,” said a source.

Patil then entered the Mantralaya in his official car, which somehow convinced the Shiv Sainiks that Patil would soon be going to Varsha to meet Uddhav Thackeray. Patil, however, instead of heading to Varsha dodged the Shiv Sainiks and slipped out of the Mantralaya from another exit point in a private car. “His official vehicle is still inside Mantralaya and he escaped while we were waiting for him outside the Secretariat,” a party source was quoted by the Indian Express as saying.

“Patil headed towards Chembur via the Eastern Express Highway. Our Sainiks also followed him but he vanished,” said a party worker.

Meanwhile, another party source added, “He disappeared from Chembur… We believe prior arrangements had been made near Chembur from where he was taken to the airport.”

Patil was later seen with other rebel Sena MLAs in Guwahati. When contacted, Sakpal said, “Patil told me that he is coming with us but he had made up his mind, so he kept us in the dark and escaped.”

After the MLC election results were declared on Monday, cracks developed in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra. The MLC elections resulted in the BJP winning unexpected 5 seats out of 10 whereas, in spite of having adequate numbers, the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance could only manage to win 5 seats out of 6 candidates fielded.

It may be recalled that on June 20, Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde was reported ‘missing’ along with several MLAs. The reports of him being ‘out of reach’ came out after legislative council elections on Monday. There have been rumours floating around that some of the Shiv Sena MLAs cross-voted in the elections resulting in the BJP winning the MLC seats.

“Thirty-nine MLAs accompanied me. We are loyal to Balasaheb Thackeray’s ideology of ‘Hindutva’ and we are keen to take it forward,” Eknath Shinde had said. Shinde said now he has the support of 46 MLAs, including 6-7 independents. 

Meanwhile, amid the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena MP and senior leader Sanjay Raut yesterday, hinted at the dissolution of the state Assembly. In a tweet in Marathi, he said, Maharashtra state developments are heading towards a dissolution of the state assembly.

Guwahati: TMC workers protest outside the hotel where rebel Shiv Sena MLAs are staying, detained by police

OpIndia Staff
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Guwahati: TMC workers protest outside the hotel where rebel Shiv Sena MLAs are staying, detained by police

As the political drama in Maharashtra is reaching to more interesting turn with every passing hour, Trinamool Congress party’s workers in Assam have tried to take the advantage of this political development to get some easy publicity. On 23rd June 2022, many TMC workers protested outside the Radisson Blu Hoteernment in Guwahati, where Eknath Shinde and MLAs supporting him are currently staying. Later they were detained and taken away from the spot by police.

Former Congress leader and TMC’s Assam unit president Ripun Bora led the protest. A party worker said during the protest, “Around 20 Lakh people in Assam are suffering due to the flood. But Chief Minister is busy toppling Maharashtra Government.”

The protesting TMC workers also said that they won’t allow horse trading of MLAs of another state in Assam. However after some time of sloganeering, police arrived and detained them. The TMC leaders and workers were loaded onto buss and taken away from the gate of the five star hotel.

The whole political unrest in Maharashtra started after reports of cross-voting during MLC elections, where the BJP won five seats despite lacking enough numbers in the assembly. Eknath Shinde, along with other rebel leaders, went untraceable after the results. Later it was reported that the rebel leaders of Shiv Sena were lodged in a hotel in Surat from where they shifted to Assam.

Amid the political stir, Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray has left his official residence ‘Varsha’ along with his family members. The reports of him leaving the official residence came hours after he issued a statement that he was ready to step down from CM post if the rebels return to Mumbai and asks for his removal. He said, “If any MLA wants me to not continue as the CM, I am ready to take all my belongings from Varsha Bungalow (official residence of the CM) to Matoshri.”

In the resolution signed by the rebels, it was stated that the ideology of Shiv Sena was compromised in the last two years. They also expressed their dismay over alleged ‘corruption in the government’ referring to the cases of Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh who are currently lodged in jail. Now, TMC workers in Assam have taken this opportunity to gain some publicity and protested outside the hotel in Guwahati where the rebel MLAs are currently staying.

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