Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena split and Siddhivinayak Temple loot claims

Six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs who left Uddhav Thackeray’s camp met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in Delhi on June 17, submitting letters that formalised their defection to Eknath Shinde’s faction. The photographs of the meeting, dubbed “Operation Tiger”, were released on July 11, and Shinde declared the operation complete and successful. The Speaker is expected to rule on the rebels’ status before the Monsoon session of Parliament begins on July 20, with anti‑defection law provisions under review.

At the same time, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde publicly accused Thackeray of remaining silent on alleged embezzlement of donations at Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak Temple during his tenure. In the state assembly, Shinde linked the temple controversy to the broader Ram Temple donation scandal and urged a probe, while Shiv Sena‑UBT MPs and other opposition members denounced Shinde’s remarks as politically motivated, calling him a traitor and demanding an impartial investigation into the Rs 500 crore “beautification” funds.