Shiv Sena (UBT) issues show cause notices to six MPs for failing to attend parliamentary board meet

The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Thursday issued a show cause notice to six of its Lok Sabha members for failing to attend a Parliamentary board meeting, amid rumours that the party is heading for its second split in four years.

“They have been given seven days to respond to the notice. We will take a call after we see their response,” said loyalist party MP Arvind Sawant. He said the rebel MPs deserved disciplinary action for not following the party whip and attending the meeting.

“If the entire process is followed properly, these MPs will be disqualified. This fight will happen in the Parliament, in the court and on the streets as well. You will see the repercussions in Maharashtra. That is why the security of the gaddar [traitor] MPs has been increased,” said Sanjay Raut, the party’s sole MP in the Rajya Sabha.

Rumours of a split

NCP SP legislator Rohit Pawar slammed the State government, claiming that Y+ security had been provided to all the six rebel MPs. Mr. Raut claimed that the dissident MPs had been moved to a location in Rajasthan. However, The Hindu has confirmed that at least two of the MPs are still in Maharashtra, and sources close to one of the six MPs told The Hindu that he has not yet taken a decision on joining the rebellion.

Sources indicated that the rebel MPs will meet Eknath Shinde, who heads the other faction of the Shiv Sena, on June 21. Denying speculation that the six MPs were likely to join the Shiv Sena on its 60th Foundation Day programme in Mumbai on June 19, leaders said that some issues were still being addressed.

Rumours of a split in the Shiv Sena, the second in four years, have been doing the rounds in Maharashtra for the last two days. Six MPs — Sanjay Dina Patil, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, and Omraje Nimbalkar – have reportedly rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray’s party, but the six have refused to make their position clear. Though they failed to attend a party meeting in the Parliament on Thursday, they have not yet declared their next steps or stated whether they are forming a separate group.

‘No decision yet’

One of the MPs, Omraje Nimbalkar, is stationed in Pune. Sources close to him told The Hindu that he has not yet taken a decision about leaving the party, adding that he will take a call only on June 20, after a special CBI court in Mumbai pronounces its judgment in a 2006 murder case in which the MP’s late father, the Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar, was the victim. The case, which has seen a trial lasting 15 years, involves allegations of a contract killing conspiracy against former Nationalist Congress Party MP Padamsinh Patil, the victim’s cousin. 

Another of the dissident MPs, Sanjay Dina Patil, is in Mumbai and has not left the State either. 

BJP leader Girish Mahajan mocked the Shiv Sena (UBT) for its lack of strength to create a stir in the State. In response, Mr. Raut challenged him to enter the fray without any police bandobast, and without the alleged support of Central agencies.