Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 17 (ANI): Amid speculation over a possible split within Shiv Sena (UBT) and reports suggesting that some of the party's MPs may defect, party leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday trained her guns on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that the ruling party was attempting to engineer political defections.
In a post on X, Chaturvedi used a metaphor involving snakes to caution the BJP against believing that political leaders brought into its fold would remain loyal indefinitely.
"The BJP should not remain under the illusion that by assembling a gang of cobras, they will feed the snakes milk and they will only bite the opposition. Your time will also come because it is the nature of a snake to bite; if today is our turn, tomorrow could be yours too," she wrote in her post.
Her remarks come amid intense political speculation in Maharashtra over the future of Shiv Sena (UBT), with reports suggesting that a section of the party's MPs may break away. However, no official announcement regarding any split has been made by the party.
Maharashtra is currently witnessing "Operation Tiger" buzz amid speculation that seven of the nine UBT MPs were in touch with Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and looking to join the ruling party. Back in 2022, Shinde, along with several MLAs, broke away from Uddhav Thackeray, splitting the party into two.
Further, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday took a swipe at the alleged attempts to engineer defections, claiming that the "Minimum Support Price" of an MP had been fixed at Rs 50 crore and that Rs 15 crore was "merely an advance amount".
Responding to an X post by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra, Raut wrote, "Apna Sapna Money Money! No, no -- Mahua ji, the Minimum Support Price is fixed at ₹50 crore per MP.(pcaas khoke) ₹15 crore is just the advance. Frankly, these people aren't even worth ₹50,000. Their price has only gone up because of the Shiv Sena and TMC brand label."
Earlier on Tuesday, replying to the Raut X post, Moitra made a sarcastic remark over the alleged monetary inducements offered to legislators and MPs.
"Only ₹15 cr? Saste mein kyo jaa rahe hai? Believe ours got ₹4cr up front and ₹1cr a month for the next 36 months of the term. .... Honey plus Money. @uddhavthackeray @abhishekaitc," Moitra said in her post.
However, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Raut did not name any individual in his post, but used the occasion to attack what he described as attempts to lure elected representatives through monetary offers, while asserting that the political value of MPs from parties such as Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Trinamool Congress had enhanced their "market price." (ANI)
