The ruling ally Shiv Sena has washed its hands off a purported plea filed by a lawyer seeking the Shiv Sena Bhavan, the headquarters of the Shiv Sena (UBT) and its funds in all banks, here on Monday.
In an official statement from the Shiv Sena Central Office in Thane, state party Coordinator and Spokesperson Naresh Mhaske said that news in some sections of the media to the effect were "absolutely false".
As per certain local channels, advocate Ashish Giri has claimed to have filed a plea 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.
Filing the plea in his personal capacity, Giri contended that the Election Commission had last year (Oct) ordered allotting the original name-symbol of 'Shiv Sena' and 'Bow and Arrow' to the Shinde faction.
However, 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.
He argued that since the Election Commission 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.
However, Mhaske categorically stated that his party has not made any such demand, the lawyer (Giri) has no connections with the Shiv Sena and dismissed the reports to the effect.
Last year, there was speculation on the fate of the Shiv Sena Bhavan and other things, but Sena (UBT) leaders said it belonged to a Thackeray family trust and so nobody could stake claim over it.
Later, Shinde had also indicated that they would not raise the issues after which his party set up the Central Office in his hometown Thane.
