‘Just as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj escaped from Agra, so I escaped from Guwahati,’ says Nitin Deshmukh, Sena MLA from Akola.
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Mumbai: Even as Shiv Sena rebel leader Eknath Shinde’s intra-party rebellion attracted more MLAs and has split the Sena down the middle, Sena MLA from Akola district Nitin Deshmukh who returned to Maharashtra, alleged a conspiracy on part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Gujarat authorities to abduct and harm him physically.
It may be recalled that Deshmukh’s wife had earlier filed a ‘missing’ complaint with the Akola police. He further claimed that a number of MLAs with Eknath Shinde wanted to return back to Maharashtra, implying they had been spirited away to Surat under duress.
The MLA from Balapur constituency in Akola in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region said that his dramatic return to Maharashtra from Guwahati was akin to “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s escape from Aurangzeb’s clutches in Agra.”
Speaking to newspersons upon his return to Nagpur from Guwahati, Deshmukh remarked, “Despite the fact that I am in good health, I was taken to a government hospital in Surat on Tuesday. Then, I saw that the police who brought me there and the doctors were talking about something among themselves… I suspected they were trying to harm me. I told the doctor that I have no ailment. He claimed I had a heart attack though my blood pressure remained normal. I sensed their intentions were not right. Then, 15-20 people caught me and thrust a needle in me.”
Lambasting the BJP and the Gujarat police, the Sena MLA said that fellow party colleague, Sena MLA from Kolhapur Prakash Abitkar had also apparently run away from Surat, but was later caught by the Gujarat police and forced to turn back.
Deshmukh further disclosed, “I am leaving for Mumbai to discuss this entire matter with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and then decide on the future course of action.” Commenting upon Eknath Shinde’s claims that a majority of the Sena’s legislators were with him, Nitin Deshmukh pointedly remarked that he was “Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sainik.”
He however, refused to divulge details as to how he got to Maharashtra, he simply said that he returned to Nagpur in a chartered plane. Deshmukh also refuted claims that he had signed on any resolution form, alleging that his signature and the footage of him showing him signing were doctored. He lashed out at the BJP, Nitin Deshmukh said that the party was behind all the turmoil which was wrongly perceived as being Eknath Shinde handiwork.
Deshmukh further stated, “I urge all Sena MLAs who are in Guwahati to return back. Remember, you’ll have not become MLAs on your strength but had Balasaheb and Uddhav Thackeray’s blessings. I urge Eknath Shinde to come back…the party does not depend on MLAs but on the strength of ordinary Shiv Sainiks who are firmly behind Uddhav Thackeray.”
Quashing suggestions of festering resentment against Uddhav Thackeray’s performance as Chief Minister, Nitin Deshmukh quipped, “What resentment? He (Uddhav Thackeray) did everything that was possible during the Covid-19 pandemic. He waived farmers’ loans and was the most popular Chief Minister in the country. So, where does the question of being disappointed with his performance arise?”
