Mumbai, June 17 (IANS) Facing a potential rebellion within its parliamentary ranks, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) on Wednesday issued a whip to all its Lok Sabha Members of Parliament, directing them to mandatorily attend a crucial parliamentary party meeting scheduled for June 18 in New Delhi.
Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha, Anil Desai, confirmed the move, saying the circular requires the presence of every elected member to discuss vital party issues.
“We have called a parliamentary meeting. A whip has been released, so it means every MP should be present,” he told reporters, signalling that non-compliance could lead to disqualification proceedings.
The measure comes amid speculation of an alleged “Operation Tiger,” with reports suggesting that six to seven of the party’s nine Lok Sabha MPs are in advanced talks to switch over to the ruling Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction. Several UBT lawmakers are already camping in the national capital.
To guard against a split reminiscent of the 2022 rebellion, senior leaders Sanjay Raut, Arvind Sawant and Anil Desai met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday.
They submitted a representation citing anti-defection laws, constitutional provisions and Supreme Court rulings, urging the Speaker not to entertain separate group recognition or merger claims without consulting the party leadership.
By issuing the whip for the June 18 meeting at Samvidhan Sadan (Parliament House), the leadership has legally cornered potential dissidents.
Failure to attend without a valid reason could result in disqualification under the Tenth Schedule.
Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut alleged that massive financial inducements, upwards of Rs 50 crore per MP, with Rs 15 crore paid as advance, were being used to engineer defections via chartered flights. Party sources indicated that Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray may also travel to New Delhi to chair Thursday’s 11:00 AM meeting to consolidate his ranks.
–IANS
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