New Delhi: Even as the political crisis in Maharashtra looks to boil over, the Central government has provided Y+ category security cover to 15 rebel Shiv Sena MLAs who joined the Eknath Shinde camp.
Senior state minister Eknath, who has been camping in Guwahati with 37 fellow-Shiv Sena and 9 Independent MLAs, had on Saturday written a letter to Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, home minister Dilip Walse Patil, DGP Rajnish Seth alleging that security cover had been withdrawn for family members of the rebel MLAs.
The Thackeray-headed Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition government, however, rejected Eknath’s charge.
Y+ security provides five to seven armed personnel — depending on threat perception to the VIP — who work in three shifts.
Shinde and his flock have been trying to devise strategy to counter the proposed plan of Thackeray’s Shiv Sena workers taking to the streets to expose the rebels.
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Shinde’s backers named their group as ‘Shiv Sena Balasaheb’, which was met with great resentment by Thackeray’s supporters.
The Uddhav faction has been pushing for the rebels’ disqualification from the Maharashtra state Assembly. If Shinde can get all his men to back him on the floor of the assembly, it will be more than two-thirds of Shiv Sena’s strength of 55 MLAs.
Shinde has hinted at either leaving Sena and forming another political party or merge with another. Either way, the MVA government will fall.
Opposition leaders have demanded that President’s rule be imposed in Maharashtra considering the current impasse. Uddhav has remained adamant thus far and vowed to fight it out, with help from its allies NCP and Congress.
