22 MLAs and 9 MPs from Shinde-led Shiv Sena feeling suffocated, could quit party: Shiv Sena(UBT)
Mumbai, May 30: The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Tuesday claimed 22 MLAs and nine MPs from rival Shiv Sena were feeling suffocated due to "step-motherly treatment" by the BJP and could quit the group led by Maharashtra Chief minister Eknath Shinde.
Latching on to Shiv Sena MP Gajanan Kirtikar's remark that his party was getting step-motherly treatment, an editorial in Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece 'Saamana' dubbed the Shinde group MLAs and MPs as "hens and cocks" imprisoned in the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) coop and that it cannot be said when they could be slaughtered.
It said Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (then undivided) severed ties with the BJP (in 2019) due to the same "step-motherly treatment" which became unbearable, and also for its safety and self-respect.
The Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena exited the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in 2019 and joined hands with the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party to form a government in Maharashtra.
After the split in the Sena last year, Shinde joined hands with the BJP to become CM.
Kirtikar, the Lok Sabha member from Mumbai, on Friday said, "We are part of the NDA....So our work should be carried out accordingly, and (NDA) constituents should get a (suitable) status. We think we are being given step-motherly treatment."
The editorial in Saamana on Tuesday said reports are that Shinde group's "22 MLAs and nine MPs are feeling suffocated because of step-motherly treatment by the BJP and they have developed the mindset to quit the group."
It said the Shiv Sena MPs and MLAs "betrayed" the Thackerays and joined hands with the BJP, but within a year, their "love affair" has turned sour and there are talks of their divorce.
Kirtikar last week said the Shiv Sena contested 22 Lok Sabha seats (out of total 48) in Maharashtra in the 2019 and this arrangement with the BJP will continue in the state even in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The editorial claimed the Shiv Sena has asked for contesting 22 seats in the Lok Sabha, but the BJP will not give it more than five to seven seats.
The Shiv Sena's claim that it will fight on 22 seats is laughable, the Marathi daily said.
Targeting Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the editorial claimed he has become the "driver" of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, which means all powers of the state government lie with the BJP leader.
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Ghazipur teen's death: Akhilesh alleges cover-up, likens case to Hathras; BJP hits back
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the Uttar Pradesh government over the recovery of a teenage girl's body in Ghazipur, alleging attempts to “change statements” and calling the incident a repeat of the Hathras case.
The BJP has dismissed the remarks as “divisive politics”.
The body of the teenage girl was found under a bridge on the Ganga in the Karanda police station area of Ghazipur district earlier this month.
Sharing a video of the victim's father on X, Yadav said, “Changing statements does not change the truth. Uttar Pradesh has never seen such a weak chief minister, under whose watch poor and helpless victims are pressured to alter their statements."
In the video, the girl’s father can be purportedly heard accusing a village head of intimidation and alleging that stones were pelted when a Samajwadi Party delegation had gone to meet the family.
He also claimed that a police officer was injured while trying to protect him.
On Saturday, however, the victim's father told reporters that he did not want political leaders to visit his home for “political mileage”.
He also said that the district officials have assured him of strict action against the accused and expressed satisfaction with the police investigation.
Raising a volley of questions, Yadav asked why there was a delay in lodging the FIR in the case, why statements were allegedly altered, and why the victim's family was being “harassed”.
The Samajwadi Party (SP) chief also questioned the lack of action against those who allegedly pelted stones at the police and raised doubts over the post-mortem report.
“Everyone knows the truth. Whatever the post-mortem report may say, the ground reality is known to everyone in the village,” Yadav said.
He also claimed that the Ghazipur incident mirrored the Hathras case, claiming both involved families from marginalised backgrounds and "dominant elements" as perpetrators.
In Hathras, a Dalit girl was allegedly gangraped on September 14, 2020. She later died at the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi on September 29.
Yadav questioned whether “cosmetic action” would ensure justice for the victim's family, as he stressed the need for “social justice” along with the rule of law.
Reacting to the SP chief’s remarks, BJP leader Naveen Srivastava said in a post on X, “You have no faith in the administration, no faith in the post-mortem report, and no faith in the victim's father. You only believe in divisive politics.”
Varanasi Zone ADGP, Piyush Mordia, said the girl had gone missing on the night of April 14, and her body was found about 3 km from her home in the Ganga early the next morning.
Based on a complaint filed by the family, an FIR has been registered, and the main accused has been arrested, the officer said.
Senior police and administrative officials have met the victim's family, Mordia said, noting that the father has sought a speedy trial to ensure strict punishment for the accused.
The officer also said that some “outsiders” attempted to create unrest in the village.
