Maha CM Uddhav Authorised to Take Action Against Rebel Sena MLAs, May Remove All Dissident Ministers

The Shiv Sena decided to remove all dissident ministers, who have joined the rebel camp along with Eknath Shinde, during its national executive meeting on Saturday. But, the party refrained from taking immediate action against rebel leader Shinde. In another decision, it also passed a resolution that no other political outfit can use the name Shiv Sena and the name of its founder, late Bal Thackeray even as the Shinde faction, which is camping in Guwahati, said it has named itself as ‘Shiv Sena (Balasaheb)’.

Chief minister and Sena president Uddhav Thackeray called a meeting of the party’s national executive as the MVA-led government has been plunged into a political crisis due to Shinde’s revolt. Majority of the Sena MLAs, some of whom are cabinet ministers, have joined the rebel leader in Guwahati.

Besides Shinde, cabinet-level ‘aayog adhyaksh’ Rajesh Kshirsagar, Dada Bhuse, Gulab Rao Patil, Sandeep Bhoomre, Shambhuraje Desai, Abdul Sattar and Bacchu Kadu will be facing action as decided by the national executive.

“The executive decided that Shiv Sena belongs to Bal Thackeray and is committed to taking forward his fierce ideology of Hindutva and Marathi pride. Shiv Sena will never deviate from this path,” Sena MP Sanjay Raut said, adding, “it passed a resolution, giving all powers to take action against those who have betrayed the party to Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray.”

The national executive has passed six resolutions, including one congratulating the chief minister for leading Maharashtra efficiently during the Covid-19 pandemic and for the development works carried out in the last two and a half years.

Uddhav was supposed to chair the meeting virtually from his residence ‘Matoshree’. But, he reached the party headquarters – Shiv Sena Bhavan – at Dadar in central Mumbai.

The executive also condemned the rebel MLAs and said the party was firmly behind Uddhav. Raut also quoted the CM as saying at the meeting the rebels should not use Bal Thackeray’s name to seek votes. “Balasaheb (Thackeray) and Shiv Sena are two sides of the same coin and except Shiv Sena, no one can use his name,” one of the resolutions read.

Sena veterans Anant Gite and Ramdas Kadam, who are members of the national executive, were absent from the meeting. Shinde, whose rebellion has created an existential crisis for the Sena, was another member of the executive who was absent.

Talking to the media outside the Sena Bhavan, Rajya Sabha member Anil Desai said, “The proceedings of the national executive meeting will be sent to the Election Commission.”

Uddhav had addressed the Sena cadres twice on Friday, in which he said he was ready to quit the post of president if the workers felt he was incapable of running the party effectively. The chief minister has also accused the dissident MLAs of betrayal and challenged them to try and wean away common party workers as he slammed Shinde and tore into the BJP, saying it wants to “finish off” his outfit and does not want to share the Hindu vote bank.

In a virtual address to Sena corporators, Uddhav said the Shiv Sainiks were his “wealth”, and as long as they were with him, he did not care about criticism by others.

“We gave these rebels tickets to contest assembly elections despite many of you being aspirants for the same. These people are disgruntled after getting elected owing to your hard work, and you are standing by the party in this crucial time. I can’t thank you enough,” the CM said.

(With PTI inputs)

Read all the Latest News , Breaking News , watch Top Videos and Live TV here.