Security cover of rebel Sena MLAs' houses, their kin removed, claims Shinde; home minister denies move

Mumbai: Dissident Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on Saturday alleged that the Maharashtra government has withdrawn the security cover from the residences of 38 party rebels, including himself, and their families, and dubbed the action as "political vendetta", although Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil denied any such move.

Shinde, who is currently camping in Guwahati along with the rebel legislators, tweeted a letter signed by him and other MLAs that is addressed to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Walse Patil.

In the letter, the legislators said CM Thackeray and the leaders of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance will be responsible if any harm is caused to their family members.

In his tweet, Shinde alleged that the security deployed at the legislators's houses was withdrawn on the orders of Thackeray and Walse Patil as part of "political vendetta".

"The government is responsible for the security of these legislators and their family members," he added.

However, Walse Patil said the chief minister and the home department did not order the removal of security cover of any MLA in the state.

"Allegations being made through Twitter are false and malicious," he said.

Shinde alleged that in the last two-and-a-half years, the MVA allies (NCP and Congress) had systematically tried to weaken the Shiv Sena.

The letter said that security provided to them at the residences as sitting MLAs as well as to their family members as per the protocol has been illegally and unlawfully withdrawn as an act of revenge.

"The sinister move is an attempt to break our resolve and arm-twist us to give into the demands of the MVA government comprising NCP and Congress goons. Various leaders of the MVA government are instigating the cadre of their respective parties to take up violence to intimidate us," it said.

"(Shiv Sena leader) Sanjay Raut has threatened us saying he would make it difficult for the MLAs who have left to return to the state and move around. The impact of these statements was borne by two of our members as their offices were vandalized by cadres of Shiv Sena merely after hours of withdrawing security of the MLAs," the letter added.

In Punjab, security of some high-profile persons was removed by the state government due to which most of the high profile persons became target of gangsters, the MLAs said.

"If our family members are harmed, then the chief minister, leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government like Sharad Pawar, Sanjay Raut and Aaditya Thackeray will be responsible," the letter said.

The MLAs who have signed the letter include Eknath Shinde (Kopri-Pachpakhadi assembly segment), Gulabrao Patil (Jalgaon rural), Sada Sarvankar (Mahim), Dada Bhuse (Malegaon), Shambhuraj Desai (Patan), Deepak Kesarkar (Sawantwadi), Bharat Gogavale (Mahad), Pratap Sarnaik (Owala-Majiwada), Yogesh Kadam (Dapoli), Shrinivas Wanga (Palghar), Lata Sonavane (Chopda), Sanjay Shirsat (Aurangabad West), Tanaji Sawant (Paranda) and Dilip Lande (Chandivali).

The MVA government has been facing a crisis of survival after a majority of Sena MLAs shifted their loyalty to Shinde and are camping in Guwahati.