india

Updated: Aug 01, 2019 19:19 IST

Leader of Oppositions in Maharashtra Assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar’s claim of being wooed by the Shiv Sena has triggered a row in the backdrop of a series of defections from Congress and NCP to the BJP-Shiv Sena ruling coalition, including that of the former leader of opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil.

Wadettiwar, while speaking to the media in Chandrapur on Thursday, said that he got at least “25 phone calls from Bandra,” referring to the residence of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

He also said that he had been called by the Sena leaders for discussion but didn’t respond.

“I did not respond to the calls from Matoshri, but then received two calls from Varsha, the residence of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. I have righteously rejected talking to them on this subject. I am happy in my party… Shiv Sena has been trying to poach leader of opposition to score over BJP that inducted Vikhe Patil in its fold,” he said.

Wadettiwar, who quit Shiv Sena in 2005 along with former chief minister and Sena leader Narayan Rane, was made leader of opposition after Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil quit Congress to join Bhartiya Janata Party right after the Lok Sabha elections.

Wadettiwar also questioned Devendra Fadnavis’s Mahajanadesh Yatra, claiming that his government had failed on all fronts including industrial development and generation of jobs.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande rejected Wadettiwar’s allegations as an attempt by the Congress leader to keep the moral of the workers high. “The statement has come in the backdrop of the mass exodus from Congress. By saying this, he is trying to keep the morale of the workers and leaders high, who are in two minds now,” Kayande said.