Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut launched a scathing attack on his party MPs, allegedly involved in defection talks amid reports that several lawmakers are in touch with the rival Shiv Sena led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
In a post on X, Raut alleged that a chartered aircraft landed at Nanded airport to ferry away two MPs from his party in what some reports describe as “Operation Tiger”, an alleged effort aimed at strengthening the Shiv Sena in Parliament by attracting MPs from the Uddhav Thackeray faction.
“A chartered plane lands at Nanded Airport… Under the guise of Operation Tiger, it picks up two MPs and takes off. They didn’t have the means to even travel by rickshaw. Thanks to Thackeray’s name, their worth has risen to the level of flying in private jets,” Raut wrote.
The Sena (UBT) leader further warned that those abandoning the party would be held accountable for their actions. “An account of every single thing will be taken. The escape of cowardly foxes has been thwarted. Why Operation Tiger, you ask?” he said.
According to reports, six of the nine MPs in the Thackeray faction are in touch with Shinde’s party. They are likely to attend a meeting at Shrikant Shinde’s residence in Delhi on Wednesday.
Raut, a staunch loyalist of Uddhav Thackeray, had claimed on Tuesday that Sena (UBT) lawmakers are being offered Rs 15 crore each to switch sides.
“Apna sapna money… money! There is information that an advance of Rs 15 crore will be given tonight to buy MPs from Maharashtra. This is shocking and disgusting!” Raut wrote in a late-night post on X.
The defection buzz has sparked a political crisis in Thackeray’s party, which is in alliance with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra.
The fresh political turmoil comes four years after the Shiv Sena suffered a virtual split when Eknath Shinde, along with several MLAs, broke away and extended support to the BJP.
