Mumbai, June 20 (IANS) A day after remaining silent at the party’s foundation day event, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) Rajya Sabha MP and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the defectors, directing much of his criticism at Dharshiv MP Omraje Nimbalkar and Hingoli MP Nagesh Patil Ashtikar.

Omraje is a completely superficial, pompous man, Raut said, brushing off his exit.

“People asked me if we should strip the title ‘Raje’ (King) from his name. Just look at his past speeches. He used to say, ‘I was never a Gram Sevak or a Sarpanch. Uddhav Thackeray gave me a platform, made me big in politics, and I will never leave him. If I do, the people of Dharashiv should beat me with footwear.’ Well, what happened now?” Raut asked.

Raut recalled the strenuous campaign mounted by the party during the last Lok Sabha elections.

“I campaigned for three days in Dharashiv. Uddhav Thackeray addressed 94 rallies. For whom were those rallies held? They took away a seat. Omraje left, Ashtikar left… let them go. An insect born in dung has simply returned to dung,” he said, lashing out at the defectors.

Raut also took a swipe at Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief leader Eknath Shinde. At the Nesco Center rally, Shinde on Friday had mocked the Thackeray faction, boasting that even though he isn’t a qualified doctor, he knows how to perform “massive political operations” — a clear nod to engineering the latest defections.

Raut hit back at the Deputy Chief Minister, casting doubt on Shinde’s political longevity.

“Do you think Eknath Shinde is some legendary leader like Yashwantrao Chavan? They just carry diaries written by others and ask questions here. He is the deputy Chief Minister today, but he won’t be there tomorrow. At one time, Ajit Pawar held immense power, but it didn’t last. In politics, Shinde is here today, but he may not be here tomorrow,” he remarked.

Raut’s latest attack on the rebel MPs came a day after party chief Uddhav Thackeray apologised to voters for the actions of the defecting leaders, telling supporters on Friday that these leaders had secured electoral victories on the strength of the party’s grassroots support and goodwill.

“I apologise to the voters of the wards where this betrayal has taken place today. During the Modi wave, people voted for these individuals out of trust in us. We were constantly taunted that our MPs won only because of Modi’s face. But this time, nine of our MPs won without using Modi’s influence. Why this continuous horse-trading now? What more do you want to achieve? How power-hungry can one get?” he asked.

Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shinde-led faction. Responding to speculation about an imminent split in his party, he warned that if attempts to engineer defections continue under labels such as “Operation Tiger”, he would be compelled to roll out a counter-offensive of his own.

“If they keep poaching our MPs or MLAs using ‘Operation Tiger,’ we too will have to carry out ‘Operation Lotus’ against them,” Thackeray warned.

–IANS

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