Aaditya Thackeray denounces defecting MPs as agents of greed

Thackeray’s sharp critique centers on the claim that the departing lawmakers secured their parliamentary seats by running on platforms backed by the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the INDIA alliance. He argues that by joining the NDA-aligned Shinde camp, these MPs have effectively betrayed the mandate of voters who specifically cast their ballots against the ideology they now embrace. He characterized the shift as a transaction fueled by personal avarice rather than political conviction.

The internal crisis reached a breaking point after a parliamentary meeting in New Delhi saw only three of the party’s nine Lok Sabha members in attendance. In response, Chief Whip Anil Desai issued show-cause notices to the six absentees—including Sanjay Dina Patil and Sanjay Jadhav—threatening disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. Party leaders maintain that failure to provide a satisfactory explanation for their absence will be treated as a voluntary relinquishment of membership, potentially clearing the path for formal removal from the house.