india

Updated: Jul 27, 2020 02:38 IST

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday complained to Rajya Sabha chairperson M Venkaiah Naidu that his seating arrangement has been changed “to hurt Sena’s sentiments and suppress our voice”.

“I was astonished to know that my seating position in the Rajya Sabha chamber (has been) changed from 3rd to 5th row. This decision was taken by someone deliberately to hurt Shiv Sena’s sentiments and suppress our voice,” Raut wrote in his letter.

“I also fail to understand reason for this unwarranted step since there is no formal announcement about the removal from NDA. This decision has affected dignity of the House.I request to allot us 1/2/3 row seat and uphold House decorum.”

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His insistence that the Sena has not quit the NDA formally came despite Arvind Sawant, the party’s lone minister in the Union cabinet resigning on November 11 over the fallout of government formation in Maharashtra.

Raut also pointed out that he has been a Rajya Sabha member since 2004 and the move to change his seat was designed to humiliate him.

“…. it clearly shows that my seat has been allotted in the 5th row intentionally to humiliate me and my party’s status in the House,” he wrote

The Shiv Sena has three members in the Upper House.

Raut who has spearheaded attacks on its former ally BJP over the issue of rotating chief ministership in Maharashtra saw a message in the change in the seating arrangement.

“A message seems to have been sent by changing the seating position...that it is correlated with the tussle in government formation in Maharashtra,” Raut said in his letter.