“The country’s home minister is not serious about national security. It is an all-party demand that he should be removed. If the government is not going to consider that demand then what is the point of the farce of these meetings?” the party said in the Saamana editorial. On Thursday night, in a video shared on X, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant said the party’s absence at the all-party meeting was being unnecessarily politicised. He said, both he and MP Sanjay Raut, the party’s leader in the Rajya Sabha, were traveling to different parts of the country for some official work of the parliament and had already said they wouldn’t be able to make it in time for the meeting in Delhi. Sawant, the Shiv Sena (UBT) group leader in the Lok Sabha, said, he had requested Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju to allow the party to send another representative instead or allow him or Raut to join by a confidential video conference. In his video statement, Sawant said, “He (Rijiju) thanked me but said video conferencing will not be possible but he will brief me after the meeting. He also said no to our suggestion of sending another representative.” “Some people have still not understood Shiv Sena. We take (challenges) head on, and not shirk them off. So making such allegations and politicising the issue at such a time is unfortunate.” He also shared the letter that he had written to Rijiju explaining his absence at the all-party meeting in a post on X. The letter said, “We would like to make it clear that we will, and should, fully support any strong response from the government to this inhuman and cowardly attack on the country.” In the letter, Sawant added, “There is also a need to study the ineffective role of intelligence agencies in this incident, negligence, inefficiency, and how and why the attack took place.” शिवसेना नेते, खासदार अरविंद सावंत ह्यांनी संसदीय कार्यमंत्री किरेन रिजिजू ह्यांना पत्र लिहून संसदीय स्थायी समितीच्या अधिकृत शिष्टमंडळासोबत देशातील विविध भागांत दौऱ्यावर असल्यामुळे सरकारने आयोजित केलेल्या सर्वपक्षीय बैठकीस वैयक्तिकरित्या उपस्थित राहणे शक्य नसल्याचे कळविले.… pic.twitter.com/gVK8HqbERy — ShivSena – शिवसेना Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (ShivSenaUBT_) April 24, 2025 Speaking to ANI Thursday, MP Shrikant Shinde of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena slammed the rival Shiv Sena (UBT) for skipping the meeting, saying, “They have only polluted Maharashtra’s politics in the last 2.5 years. The way they have tried to run away from many issues, they have tried to do that today too” Another leader from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora, said it was “shameful, but expected”. In a post on X Friday, Deora said, “When the nation needs one voice on security, those who bark into mics daily suddenly fall silent.” Speaking to reporters Friday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “When it comes to the country, history is such that all parties have united. When the enemy attacks us, then India’s political parties have not seen differences. We know how Atal Bihari Vajpayee had given full support to Indira Gandhi during the Bangladesh war. But the way some are working today with a petty mind.” “To oppose in such a situation, to make idiotic statements, whatever has been going on in the Shiv Sena (UBT), the people of this country will not forgive.” The Saamana editorial further added that 25 lakh tourists across the country visited Kashmir because there was a propaganda that terrorism has been wiped out of Kashmir. “PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are saying that the Pahalgam attack should not be politicised. They are saying don’t politicise the issue because the Pahalgam attack has burst the bubble of the government’s claims,” it said. The party also said the country faces greater danger from those who think that the Pahalgam attacks can only be avenged by voting for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “The country is facing the most threat from those who think revenge will be completed by saying we must vote for BJP in elections, we must make Modi the PM. We have to take revenge against Pakistan and terrorists,” the editorial said. The party also pointedly added that the fight is against Pakistan and not against patriotic Muslims who are Indian citizens and that the government should act and not just campaign. The party also criticised the government for only indicating that it will break diplomatic ties with Pakistan, while the two countries continue to play cricket. It urged Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah, chairman of the International Cricket Council, to declare that India will not play cricket with Pakistan anymore. (Edited by Sanya Mathur) Also Read: Country is grieving and angry, Centre should take steps to calm tempers—Mehbooba on Pahalgam
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