Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday doubled down on his abusive tirade against “rebellious” MPs who skipped a key meeting of the party’s parliamentary wing amid speculation of an internal split and an attempt to form a separate group ahead of a possible merger with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
On Thursday, six of the Shiv Sena’s nine Lok Sabha MPs (UBT) were absent from the crucial meeting, adding to rumors of divisions within the party. The rally was seen as a test of support for Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and whether he can prevent a disintegration in the Lok Sabha unit. Follow live updates related to the Sena (UBT) crisis here.
Sanjay Raut’s abusive rant continues
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Raut once again targeted the absent MPs, calling them “traitors, dishonest and fraudsters”.
On camera, he repeatedly used the word “Ga**u” while referring to the rebellious lawmakers and asked reporters not to “cut the word off.” Raut said the legislators had “betrayed” the party through their “rebellion”.
Later, Raut defended the use of language and said that he “did not use any wrong words”.
“These traitors, these dishonest people in society and politics, traitors and dishonest people, one should use exactly this kind of language for them… In every party, any dishonest person, whether in the Congress, whether in the Aam Aadmi Party, whether in the Shiv Sena, whether in the Nationalist Congress Party, they deserve to be treated with the same language,” he told news agency PTI.
The Rajya Sabha MP had used similar language on Wednesday and later defended his remarks, saying such expressions were “regularly used in Maharashtra”. He also said he knows what kind of language is appropriate and when to use it.
While Raut was hurling abuses at the “rebels”, he urged the media not to “cut off his statements”.
Read also | Amid TMC, Shiv Sena (UBT) rebellions, numbers that could benefit NDA in Parliament
Sena (UBT) split on the way?
Speculation was already rife about the Shiv Sena’s (UBT) Lok Sabha ranks, however, the issue escalated after six of the party’s nine MPs skipped the party’s important parliamentary meeting in the national capital.
After the meeting, Raut claimed that the rebel MPs received another meeting $10 crore each and were taken to a safe place in Rajasthan.
“The Shiv Sena’s (UBT) rebel MPs have been given an additional post $10 Crores each. Earlier, they were granted $15 Crores each. They have moved from Delhi to a safe place in Rajasthan.”
On Wednesday, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena claimed that six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs, namely Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchor, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtekar, Sanjay Patel and Umraji Nimbalkar, had signed a letter stating that they had created a separate group. However, Sanjay Patel later indicated that he was not part of the faction, leading to uncertainty about the exact strength of the rebels.
“We have been told that they have submitted a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker,” Sena secretary Kiran Bawaskar told HT.
While Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant said show-cause notices would be served to the six legislators, Raut claimed that their absence from the meeting would be treated as violation of the party whip.
