'In 2022 I changed the government,' Eknath Shinde says amid rift in Maharashtra ruling alliance
Mumbai/IBNS: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde Friday warned to "not take me lightly" in response to death threat emails but the remark is seen in a larger context amid reports of a rift between the Shiv Sena leader and his ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party that leads the state government.
Asked about the threat where police received emails warning of bombs in Shinde's car, the former CM said: "Threats came before too... attempts were made too, but I am not afraid."
It was his next set of comments that raised eyebrows.
"Do not take me lightly... I have already said this to those who took me lightly. I am a normal party worker... but I am also a worker of Balasaheb (Thackeray, the Shiv Sena's founder), and everyone should take me with this understanding," Shinde said.
It was his 2022 rebellion that split the Shiv Sena and brought down Uddhav Thackeray's Congress, NCP-backed government in Maharashtra.
Referred to his role in bringing the BJP back to power, Shinde said: "In 2022 I changed the government (and) in my first speech in the Vidhan Sabha (ahead of the 2024 election) I said Fadnavis would get over 200 seats... and we got 232. That is why I say, do not take me lightly."
The warning, Shinde said, was for "those who want to understand this hint".
Just three months after a landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance seems to be having a widening rift over the withdrawal of 'Y'-security cover to some MLAs.
According to reports, while the cover has been downgraded or withdrawn for MLAs across all parties, the number is maximum for the Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, which is upset over the move.
After Shinde rebelled and allied with the BJP in 2022, the Maharashtra government gave Y-security cover to 44 of its MLAs and 11 Lok Sabha MPs who had supported him.
However, as per reports, based on a security assessment, the cover has now been downgraded or withdrawn for all Shiv Sena MLAs and other leaders, including key aides of the party chief, who are not ministers.
The security has been downgraded or withdrawn for leaders from the BJP and the NCP too, but the number is highest for Shiv Sena with 20 of its leaders facing this.
Amid the row, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said decisions on security cover are taken by the Security Review Committee.
The panel reviews the security from time to time and decides accordingly.
Shinde, who is reportedly still coping with the fact that he was not made the chief minister, has recently been accommodated in the State Disaster Management Authority by modifying rules after he was unhappy over being left out of it.
As per reports, all is not well between Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar too after the government decided not to go ahead with the appointment of NCP leader Aditi Tatkare and the BJP's Girish Mahajan as the guardian ministers of Nashik and Raigad.
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