Maharashtra Crisis: Aaditya Thackeray Says 15-20 Rebel MLAs In Touch With Sena Leaders In Mumbai

“The dirt has gone away. Now we can do something good,” Thackeray said, referring to the rebel MLAs.

New Delhi: Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray on Monday claimed that 15 to 20 Shiv Sena MLAs who joined the rebel camp are in touch with him and urged the party to bring them back to Mumbai from Guwahati. Addressing Shiv Sena workers in Karjat on the outskirts of Mumbai, Thackeray, who is making efforts to save the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, said that every worker of the party is seeing the current situation as an opportunity, not as a problem.

“The dirt has gone away. Now we can do something good,” Thackeray said, referring to the rebel MLAs.

The Shiv Sena leader, the son of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, said before June 21 revolt there was a murmur that there would be some development in the party, which heads the MVA which also includes the NCP and Congress.

Most of the Shiv Sena MLAs, including nine ministers, have revolted against the party, threatening the existence of the two-and-a-half-year-old government. The Shiv Sena has claimed that some MLAs have been kidnapped or forcibly taken away by the rebel camp.

“Around 15-20 MLAs are in touch with us. They call me and Shiv Sainiks and urged us to bring them back from Guwahati,” he said.

“Their situation is like a prisoner, first in Surat (where the rebels landed after leaving Mumbai last week) and then in Guwahati,” he said.

Shinde has claimed the support of more than three dozen Shiv Sena MLAs out of the total 55. Criticising the Shiv Sena strongman from Thane without naming him, Thackeray said some leaders were trusted blindly and the sad part was that such people were continuously promoted in the organisation. He said the MLA leaving the party was like "cleaning the ‘nullahs’ and garbage before the onset of monsoon."

(With PTI inputs)