The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Monday issued a notice to its six rebel MPs over reports that they had allegedly merged with the Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, saying the Sena (UBT) had not initiated, approved or permitted any merger with the Shiv Sena led by Shinde.
He warned that such a merger is not permitted or provided for by law.
In a letter dated July 13, Shiv Sena parliamentary leader Arvind Sawant said: “The elections were held, inter alia, against the candidates fielded by the Shiv Sena and led by Eknath Shinde. You have been elected by the people in your constituency who have confidence in the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray through the name and symbol of the Shiv Sena (UBT).”
She also said that the party learned through “publicly available reports” that the six MPs are “trying to portray that there is a merger” of the Shiv Sena (UBT) with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
“It has also come to our attention that you have approached the Speaker of the Lok Sabha claiming that they have merged or seeking recognition of this alleged ‘merger’,” the letter read.
In his letter, Sawant also referred to the provisions in the Tenth Schedule regarding merger and said that the party had raised the issue with the Speaker, who had not issued any order recognizing any claim for merger.
Six of the nine Sena MPs (UBT) crossed over to the Shiv Sena last month to inform the Lok Sabha Speaker that they had formed a separate group and were merging with the Sena. Speaker Om Birla is yet to take a decision on the matter, though Shinde insisted that the required legal action has been completed.
