Mumbai : Speculation is mounting over a potential rebellion among MPs of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena-UBT as a ruling Sena leader extends an open invitation to dissidents, despite senior Sena-UBT figures dismissing the rumours and asserting party unity.

Ruling Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik hinted at welcoming Shiv Sena-UBT dissidents, offering them 'priority' if they switch allegiance to Eknath Shinde's faction.

Sena-UBT MP Sanjay Deshmukh's meeting with a rival minister and his absence from a party meeting fuelled speculation about potential defections.

Only four of nine Sena-UBT MPs physically attended a recent meeting convened by Uddhav Thackeray, with others joining virtually or by phone.

Sena-UBT leaders Sanjay Raut and Anil Desai have vehemently denied any impending rebellion, asserting that all party parliamentarians remain united with Uddhav Thackeray.

Raut accused the BJP of splitting parties, stating that such practices are 'bad for the country's political health' and expressed confidence in his party's resilience.
 
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut on late Tuesday night claimed that an "advance of Rs 15 crore" is being given to "buy MPs from Maharashtra", adding fuel to the intense buzz that a section of party's Lok Sabha members could switch sides.

Earlier in the day, the speculation about an imminent rebellion by MPs of Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena-UBT, tentatively on a Trinamool Congress (TMC) template, strengthened with ruling Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik hinting at welcoming dissidents and giving them priority should they jump ship.

Eyebrows were raised when Raut, Sena (UBT) MP and Uddhav's confidant, travelled to Delhi, sparking a buzz that he might meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to preempt any bid by nine MPs of the party to form a separate group.

In a late night post on X, Raut said, "Apna sapna money...money! There is information that an advance of Rs 15 crore will be given tonight to buy MPs from Maharashtra. This is shocking and disgusting!"
Earlier Raut and his Sena (UBT) colleague Anil Desai, a Lok Sabha member, scotched the suggestion that some MPs may form a separate group.

Amid animated discussions about a rebellion brewing in the ranks of MPs, Shiv Sena leader and state Transport Minister Sarnaik virtually extended a thinly-veiled invitation.

"If public representatives like MPs and MLAs do not trust their leadership...If they believe in the ideals of Sena founder Bal Thackeray and are willing to trust the leadership of Eknath Shinde, then the doors of the Shiv Sena are open to them," he said.

The minister cryptically said, "We will give them priority if they thought of it (any time) in the future."

His comments came a day after Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Deshmukh met Union minister and Shiv Sena minister Prataprao Jadhav in Delhi.

Eyebrows were raised when the Yavatmal-Washim MP skipped a meeting convened by Uddhav Thackeray at his residence in Mumbai on Sunday, citing "family reasons". However, on Monday, he met Prataprao Jadhav, fuelling speculation about a possible switch.

The perception of likely defections deepened after only four of nine MPs of Sena (UBT) physically attended the meeting. Raut had claimed that five other MPs attended the meeting virtually and on the phone.

On Tuesday, Raut said a "wrong picture was being painted" and asserted all parliamentarians remain firmly with the party and Uddhav Thackeray.

While MPs Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai, Rajabhau Waje and Sanjay Patil attended the meeting in person, Omprakash Raje Nimbalkar, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Nagesh Bapurao Patil Ashtikar and Sanjay Deshmukh were present online. Another MP, Sanjay Jadhav, spoke to Thackeray over the phone, Raut had said.

He said the MPs swore in the name of their mother, children, Saibaba and Goddess Tuljabhavani that they will not abandon party chief Uddhav Thackeray.

"All Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs are together and will remain together," the Rajya Sabha member told reporters at the Parliament House complex in New Delhi.

While ruling out any threat to the Sena (UBT), Raut also expressed confidence in the party's ability to handle any crisis.

Asked if he was in the national capital to meet the Lok Sabha Speaker amid buzz that some Sena (UBT) MPs could form a separate group, just like the TMC leaders, Raut denied any such move.

"The (undivided) Shiv Sena has a legacy of 60 years and has a history of agitating for different causes. We have seen many ups and downs in the past. But ours is a cadre-based party. MLAs and MPs come and go, but the party remains," he added.

He accused the BJP of splitting parties, saying such practice is "bad for the country's political health".

"Hamara din jab aayega, hum dikhayenge party kaise todi jata hai' (We will show how parties are split when our days come)," Raut said.

Echoing Raut, Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha MP Anil Desai dismissed the suggestion that some of his colleagues may form a separate group.

"There is no such thing. A series of meetings have been conducted by Uddhav Thackrey ji in the last one-and-a-half years, and everyone (MPs) attended.

"In the last meeting, four of us were there in person while five of them were on video conferencing. They could not come to 'Matoshree' in Mumbai because they had their individual engagements, which were fixed much earlier," Desai said.

According to the agency, acting on inputs from the NTA, state law enforcement agencies, including the police forces of Bihar, Gujarat and Rajasthan, and its own monitoring efforts, I4C secured the prompt takedown of a "substantial number" of Telegram channels, groups and bots that openly advertised fraudulent and misleading purposes.

Digital advocacy and public policy entities have raised questions about the effectiveness of the government's decision.

Public policy firm IGAP said that for an examination of the NEET scale and consequence, the state has a legitimate interest in acting against fake paper-leak claims, organised cheating networks and frauds that can create panic among students and families.

"Restricting access to Telegram affects many ordinary users who may have nothing to do with the misconduct. Students, coaching groups, teachers, professionals, journalists, small businesses and communities also use Telegram for legitimate purposes. So, the issue is not whether the government can act to protect NEET. It clearly can. The harder question is whether a platform-level restriction is the least intrusive way to address a particular pattern of misuse," IGAP Partner Dhruv Garg said.

He further said that paper leak rumours and exam fraud do not travel only through Telegram. They can move across other platforms and closed groups as well.

Digital advocacy group The Internet Freedom Foundation criticised the government's curbs on Telegram and disabling its message-editing feature ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-exam, calling the move a band-aid solution and a "disproportionate" response to exam fraud.

In a statement on X, the digital rights advocacy outfit expressed its objection to the directions announced today in the National Testing Agency's press release.

"Shutting down Telegram is a band-aid solution and is a disproportionate answer to exam fraud," it said.