Sanjay Raut questions legitimacy of Eknath Shinde faction, says 'cannot claim to be original Sena'

Sanjay Raut on Monday questioned the legitimacy of the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and said the Shinde group cannot claim to be the original Sena.

Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Raut said these MLAs (of the Shinde group) should ask themselves some questions. They used the party symbol and all benefits that come along with it to win elections and then broke the same party. 

Raut's statement comes after Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar reinstated Shinde as the Shiv Sena legislature party leader, removing Ajay Chaudhary, just ahead of the Eknath Shinde-led government’s floor test today. 

Narvekar also recognised the appointment of Bharat Gogawale from the Shinde camp as the chief whip of the Sena, removing Sunil Prabhu, who belongs to the Thackeray faction.

"We will definitely contest it in court. If the Shinde faction left the Shiv Sena, then how can they claim that their group is the original party and not the one led by Uddhav Thackeray. The Thackeray name is synonymous with the Shiv Sena,” Sanjay Raut said. 

Raut said Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu had suspended JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav for defying the party's order not to participate in an event. "The event was not even in Parliament, but still he faced the action,” the Shiv Sena's chief spokesperson claimed.

“However, such a rule is not applicable to us when we expect similar action to be taken against 16 MLAs out of 39 (of the Shinde faction). Is it appropriate?” he asked.

When a ruling is given as per the convenience of a person or a party, it is not a parliamentary democracy, he said. 

(With inputs from PTI)

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