Attacking Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, BJP leader and former minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil accused him of having divided his loyalties between the Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar.
In a letter to Raut, Vikhe Patil questioned the Saamna executive editor if he had “quit the position of the Shiv Sena’s spokesperson and instead taken over as the Congress spokesperson.”
On Monday, Saamna had carried an editorial which had criticised Vikhe Patil for his statements against revenue minister and Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Balasaheb Thorat.
Vikhe Patil was the leader of opposition in the Maharashtra state legislative assembly, but quit the party to join the BJP after his son Dr Sujay was not given a party nomination for the Lok Sabha polls from Ahmednagar. Sujay joined the BJP and was elected to the lower house of Parliament defeating the NCP’s Sangram Jagtap. Vikhe Patil later became the housing minister in the Devendra Fadnavis regime.
“We changed political parties, but loyally worked for the party which we were part of. If our chest is torn open, only one image will be visible, unlike your chest where both, (Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president) Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar will be seen. People are well-aware of your double standards,” said Vikhe Patil, who has been part of the Congress and Shiv Sena in the past.
“You have advised me to stay away from politics… But, let me tell you that I did not join politics with your beneficence,” said Vikhe Patil, reiterating his claim that Thorat had tried to join the BJP. Vikhe Patil and Thorat hail from Ahmednagar district and are political rivals since their days in the Congress.
