The Shiv Sena on Monday distanced itself from a case filed by a Mumbai-based advocate seeking the control of Shiv Sena Bhavan, the headquarters of the Shiv Sena (UBT), and transfer of its all bank deposits to the Eknath Shinde-led Sena.
In a statement issued here on Monday, Shiv Sena’s Maharashtra coordinator and spokesperson Naresh Mhaske termed as “absolutely false” the news reports being aired by some television channels that his party had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking the control of Shiv Sena Bhavan, the headquarters of the Shiv Sena (UBT), and transfer of its all bank deposits to the accounts of his party.
“Some television channels are showing that we have filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking the control of Shiv Sena Bhavan and all the bank deposits. There is no truth in these reports. We deny all such reports.. We have no link whatsoever with Advocate Ashish Giri who has filed a case in this regard in the Supreme Court,” Mhaske said. A section of the regional television channels had reported earlier in the day that
Advocate Ashish Giri had filed a petition in the Supreme Court demanding that all the funds and the party headquarters of ex-CM-led Shiv Sena (UBT) should be handed over to the Shinde-led Shiv Sena. In his petition, Giri contended that the Election Commission of India (ECI) had in October last year recognised the Eknath Shinde-led party as the real Shiv Sena and ordered allotment of the original name-symbol of ‘Shiv Sena’ and ‘Bow and Arrow’ to the Shinde faction.
However, in the ECI’s order, there was no clarity on the party’s headquarters in Dadar, the iconic Shiv Sena Bhavan, its 227 branches in Mumbai and other units across the state and the funds in various bank accounts.
In his petition, Giri contended that since the ECI had given the name and symbol to the Shinde faction, it also had the rights to the party headquarters and the bank funds, and demanded a stay till the case is heard. It may be recalled that in the wake of the Shinde-led party being recoginsed as the real Shiv Sena, there was speculation on the fate of the Shiv Sena Bhavan and the funds held by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena.