New Delhi:
Nationalist Congress Party, whose leader Ajit Pawar has extended support to Bharatiya Janata Party, has shifted its MLAs to from Hotel Renaissance in Mumbai's Powai to Hotel Hyatt due to security reasons. The move comes after some of the NCP leaders allegedly caught policemen in civil dress inside the hotel. A video, reportedly shot inside the hotel, shows party lawmaker Jitendra Awhad questioning cops and asking them to show his identity card. Awhad claimed that cops won’t do any such things unless they get an order from people in the government.
While NCP shifted their MLAs from Hotel Renaissance to Hyatt Hotel, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party moved its legislators to Lemon Tree from The Lalit.
When Awhad asked one of the policemen the reason behind their presence at the hotel, he replied they were just "sitting there".
#WATCH: Police in civil dress caught by #NCP leaders during legislators meet at Hotel Renaissance. #NCP claims he was sent by BJP to ‘spy’ on them#MaharashtraPolitics#MaharashtraCM pic.twitter.com/ivX6m0M8z1
— News Nation (@NewsNationTV) November 24, 2019
"Such a high-ranking officer is sitting here for no reason? Do you think we are fools?" he asked further.
This is not the first time when Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress have shifted their MLAs to other hotels. The three parties shifted their MLAs to different hotels in the city after BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was on Saturday sworn in as the chief minister along with NCP's Ajit Pawar as his deputy.
Earlier, security was tightened outside luxury hotels in Mumbai where MLAs of the NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena have been kept to thwart any poaching attempts, police said on Sunday.
The dramatic political development took place just hours after the new alliance of Shiv Sena, the NCP, and the Congress reached a consensus that Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will be their chief ministerial candidate.
In a bid to prevent their MLAs from being poached for the forthcoming floor test in the state Assembly, the Congress moved its MLAs to J W Marriott hotel in Juhu area, while the NCP shifted its legislators to The Renaissance hotel in Powai, sources said.
Besides, the Shiv Sena MLAs are staying at The Lalit hotel located near the international airport here, they said.
With Agency Inputs
