Sanjay Raut/File Image
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut's seating position in the Rajya Sabha has been changed from the third to the fifth row. Raut has shot off a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairperson Venkaiah Naidu saying that the change in his seating arrangement has "hurt sentiments" of his party. What added another fresh to the ongoing political drama in Maharashtra is Raut's statement that "no formal word" has been made about Shiv Sena's exit from the NDA.
"I also fail to understand the reason for the unwarranted step of re-allocation of seats since there is no formal announcement about Sena's removal from the NDA," Raut said in his letter dated November 18. Raut's letter further read, "It may also be noted that no such decision has yet been taken by the Presiding Officer of the Lok Sabha."
The Sena for the first time chose to stay away from the NDA meeting on Nov 17. Earlier, Sena forced its lone minister in the Union cabinet Arvind Sawant to quit. It is in this perspective and in the background of the Sena's bid to form government with the NCP-Congress that Raut's remark on Sena not having formally exited the NDA assumes significance.
Raut is the leader of Shiv Sena Parliamentary Party in the Rajya Sabha and his seating position has been changed from the 3rd to the 5th row.
In his long letter to the Rajya Sabha Chairperson, Sanjay Raut has lashed out at the government's decision on seating arrangement, calling it "deliberate" and a move that is taken to "hurt the Shiv Sena."
His statement about "no formal" announcement of Sena's exit from the NDA has added to the perceived confusion in the Sena ranks. On Tuesday, Raut said that "it needs 100 births" to understand what Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar says.
Sharad Pawar's NCP, which got 54 seats and has been in talks with both Sonia Gandhi and Shiv Sena for a non-BJP government in Maharashtra, too, has started giving mixed signals. On Monday after his meeting with Sonia Gandhi, Pawar said it is the Sena and BJP which need to worry about forming a government in Maharashtra.
On Wednesday, the Maratha strongman briefly met the Prime Minister. Sources said soon after BJP President Amit Shah entered PM Modi's chamber.
Earlier on Monday, PM Modi praised NCP for its conduct in the House, which too has been seen through political prism.
When a Union cabinet minister from the BJP was asked to respond to Raut's statement, he said, "Wait and watch."
(With IANS inputs)
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