Mohan Rawle, a five-time former MP from Mumbai south-central, was today expelled from Shiv Sena, days after his meeting with MNS chief Raj Thackeray, in an apparent clamp down on dissidence.
The development follows Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray's stern warning to dissidents last Friday when he said those who were uncomfortable with his leadership were free to leave the party which had prompted an apology from senior leader and former Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi.
"Mohan Rawle has been expelled from Shiv Sena," party spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut told PTI.
Rawle was in the middle of media briefing when the news of expulsion came.
Rawle, who was reportedly upset with party leadership over reports that it was planning to field former MLC Arvind Sawant from his old constituency, had met Raj Thackeray on November 22, creating a flutter in the party.
Though he had later clarified it was a "purely personal meeting" and a "courtesy call", his explanation apparently failed to satisfy the Sena leadership.
Rawle hit out at the party following his expulsion, saying, "Shiv Sena is on the way to becoming a party of "dalals" (brokers)."
He particularly targeted Uddhav's personal assistant Milind Narvekar for the current state of party affairs and his expulsion.
"I am not surprised by this action, which has come because I spoke out against Narvekar. Narvekar is responsible for the the present plight of Sena. They don't have the guts to remove Narvekar," Rawle told reporters.
"When Balasaheb (the late Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray) was there, I used to be called to Matoshree (Thackeray residence) if there were issues concerning me and I used to clarify," he said, adding "but things have changed so much that even as an MP, I had to wait four years to meet Uddhav."
A defiant Rawle said he would not apologise for his actions, in an apparent reference to Manohar Joshi, who had raised the hackles of the party leadership by his criticism of Uddhav.
"I won't tender an apology to anyone. It is Narvekar who is managing Sena affairs," he said.
Rawle, according to sources close to him, is considering joining MNS.
