When Sanjay Raut, the Shiv Sena (UBT) MP and spokesperson, posted on social media this week that he had information Maharashtra MPs would be receiving “an advance of Rs 15 crore” that very night, he was merely confirming the buzz that several Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs in the Lok Sabha were on the verge of joining the ruling NDA coalition. “Apna Sapna, Money, Money,” he added sarcastically.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is making no bones about its role in prompting elected Members of Parliament to desert the Opposition. Even those who were among the fiercest and most outspoken critics of the BJP, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, both inside and outside Parliament, such as Trinamool Congress MP Saayoni Ghosh, are being welcomed with open arms.

A bitter Kirti Azad, one of the few Mamata Banerjee loyalists left in the Trinamool Congress parliamentary party, claimed that rebel TMC MPs were meeting BJP MP Nishikant Dubey to finalise the terms of their switch. Police personnel were guarding the gates outside while BJP leaders held discussions with the rebels inside, he alleged.

The rebels themselves confirmed that they had met Union........

© National Herald