'Were fed up, felt insulted': Rebel MLAs write an emotional letter to Uddhav Thackeray

The letter stated that MLAs weren’t able to meet the CM, people from real opposition – the Congress and the NCP used to get opportunities to meet him and even funds were given to them related to work in their constituencies.

The war of words between the warring Shiv Sena factions took a new turn with dissident leader Eknath Shinde sharing a letter in which he countered Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray stating that party MLAs were insulted every time they wanted to meet the latter at his official residence. Shinde shared the letter on his Twitter with a caption: "This is the sentiment of MLAs".

The letter stated that "despite having a Shiv Sena CM in the state, the party MLAs didn’t use to get the opportunity to visit Varsha Bungalow (CM’s residence). People around the CM used to decide if we can meet him or not. We felt we were insulted."

It further stated that CM never used to be in the Secretariat, instead, he used to be in Matoshree. They used to call people around the CM but they never used to attend their calls. "We were fed up with all these things and persuaded Eknath Shinde to take this step,” it added.

The letter stated that MLAs weren’t able to meet the CM, people from real opposition – the Congress and the NCP used to get opportunities to meet him and even funds were given to them related to work in their constituencies.

“When Hindutva and Ram Mandir are crucial issues for the party, then why did the party stop us from visiting Ayodhya. MLAs were called and were stopped from going to Ayodhya during Aaditya Thackeray’s visit to Ayodhya,” the letter read.

The potential of a Shiv Sena vertical split appears to be growing, with three additional MLAs travelling to Assam to join the rebel camp led by Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde, who has so far claimed the backing of more than 40 lawmakers and several Independents.