Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena had joined a protest led by Mamata Banerjee last month over cash ban.
Highlights
- Uddhav Thackeray is expected to meet Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley
- Sources say discussions on currency ban is likely
- Last month, Sena had joined the Mamata Banerjee-led protest on cash ban
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is in Delhi. Among his engagements - a wedding to attend and meetings with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the man who had made a call to Matoshree recently, and finance minister Arun Jaitley.
While the Thackerays have indicated that these are courtesy calls, sources say discussions on the currency ban are certainly on the cards.
In the backdrop was the recent conversation that the Home Minister had with Uddhav Thackeray.
As the Shiv Sena lawmakers joined Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to walk to the President's House over cash ban last month, the Home Minister had dialled the party's chief to demand an explanation.
While Trinamool Congress's Dinesh Trivedi had put his contact with the Thackerays to good use and pulled off this symbolic move, the Sena had to explain to their senior partners.
Sena sources told NDTV that Mr Thackeray wasn't apologetic when asked why they went with an opposition party despite being part of the ruling alliance.
"Why did you go with the PDP in Kashmir even though they are ideologically opposite? Here, we have only supported them on a policy matter, not ideology,'' the Sena chief reportedly said.
Sources said the conversation ended with the Sena agreeing not to make any more public statements against the currency ban. Even though, Saamna, their mouthpiece said, "Those who say that people have voted the BJP to power due to the decision of demonetisation are fools.''
Just a day before, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tweeted this very link between the polls and the currency ban, saying the results across India illustrate that people want all-round progress of the nation and will not tolerate corruption and misgovernance.
Sources told NDTV that the alliance partner will only hold its peace till December 30. Already, their legislators and parliamentarians have written to the Governor of the Reserve Bank, reminding them that 25 days are up and the situation wasn't better.
The feedback from across the state about the common people's troubles since the currency ban has placed Sena in a position that involves some posturing before civic polls early next year. While the party is in no position to break the alliance with the BJP, noises of discontent, if any, is likely to send wrong signals across the country.