An outsider will not become the CM of Maharashtra, Shah told Shinde, adding that the BJP has respected Shiv Sena, Raut wrote in his column
Mumbai: In a sensational claim, Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday stated that deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde secretly met Union home minister Amit Shah in Pune seeking CM’s post with allegations that he was being cornered in the Devendra Fadnavis-led MahaYuti govt. However, Shah rebuffed him saying Shinde can harbour any thoughts of becoming CM only after merging his party with the BJP, Raut claimed.
The meeting took place on February 22 at West Inn Hotel in Koregaon Park in Pune and Shinde waited till 4 am to meet the Union Minister, said Raut in his weekly column ‘Rokhthok’ (point blank) in the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece Saamana.
According to the Rajya Sabha MP, Shinde, during the meeting, complained to Shah that he was given no respect in the government and all his decisions were being reversed. The DCM said that he went with the BJP trusting the saffron party’s assurance that he would remain the Chief Minister even after elections. However, Shah refuted his claims saying the BJP had over 125 MLAs and he had no right to claim the CM post.
Shinde tried to argue that the elections were held under his leadership. However, Shah again countered his claims that the elections were held on Modiji’s face, asking Shinde to state his demand, on which the Shiv Sena leader replied that he wanted the CM’s post. On this, the union minister offered Shinde to merge his party with the BJP to substantiate his claim on the top post. An outsider will not become the CM of Maharashtra, Shah told Shinde, adding that the BJP has respected Shiv Sena, Raut wrote in his column.
The Sena (UBT) MP said that the Maratha pride has been ruined by the ‘Delhi rulers.’ “Amit Shah split Balasaheb Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, which was formed for Maharashtra and the Marathi people. Today, Shinde wants to become the CM again, so he has decided to merge the stolen Shiv Sena with the BJP. There can be no bigger insult to Maharashtra's pride than this,” he said.
The Shinde-led Shiv Sena, slammed Raut saying he was making baseless claims. “Raut wants to remain in news in the media and hence, making such claims,” said Naresh Mhaske, Shiv Sena’s Thane MP and the party’s chief spokesperson.
