New Delhi

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Friday said that several MPs of the Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT) were dissatisfied with the party leadership and thus were distancing themselves from it.

Referring to the recent party meeting in which six of the party's MPs absented themselves despite a party whip, Athawale said, "I believe that six of their MPs did not join because they do not want to be with them. Uddhav Thackeray made a mistake by leaving his Mahayuti and joining Maha Vikas Aghadi... this is the result of Thackeray's mistake of aligning with the Congress-NCP."

He further added that had Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray aligned with the NDA from the beginning in 2019, the present situation would not have arisen. Athawale claimed that "Shiv Sena and Shiv Sainiks are leaving Uddhav Thackeray."

The Union Minister claimed that the opposition had "betrayed" them on key issues, saying they had opposed the Women's Reservation Bill and the Delimitation Bill. "These people had betrayed us by deliberately opposing the women's reservation bill and the delimitation bill, doing injustice to women... Now, when the monsoon session of Parliament starts, then we can pass the Bill as we will have a clear majority, giving justice to women," he said.

Responding to remarks made by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, Athawale said while he understood the anger over alleged defections, the language used was inappropriate. "We can understand him getting angry after so many MPs defected. However, it is not a good thing to abuse... It is not in our tradition to abuse in Maharashtra... Sanjay Raut is also a member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha... so using such language is not right," Athawale added.

Amid speculation over the loyalties of some Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs, party MP Rajabhau Parag Prakash Waje asserted that he had not rebelled and remained aligned with two other MPs. Waje was received by supporters upon his arrival in Nashik and dismissed reports of any split in his camp."I did not do rebellion. We are three MPs who are together," Waje told reporters. His remarks come at a time when political circles in Maharashtra are abuzz over the possibility of some Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders moving closer to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

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Adding to the speculation, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Jadhav earlier shared a poster on social media marking the completion of 60 years of Shiv Sena. The poster carried the words "Akhand Shiv Sena, Atal Hindutva" and featured the party's tiger symbol and a "60 years" emblem. Notably, it did not carry images associated with either the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena or the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), prompting political discussions over the message being conveyed.