Nagpur: As rumours of Operation Tiger 3.0 to lure Opposition legislators to Sena-Shinde camp grow stronger, cabinet minister Uday Samant on Friday said it would be a “happy moment” if Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar joins the party led by Deputy CM Eknath Shinde. This triggered a sharp response from Wadettiwar who called the speculation “politics of defamation” and reaffirmed his loyalty to Congress.Samant, who was in Vidarbha for party events in Amravati and Nagpur, described Wadettiwar as a mass figure with deep roots. Samant said, “Wadettiwar and Shinde are very good friends. I too have worked with Wadettiwar and we all respect him. It is true Wadettiwar never discussed party entry with us. But if he decides to join us, I would be the happiest person.”Earlier this week, Shinde Sena successfully weaned away six UBT Sena Lok Sabha MPs, following which Shinde himself hinted that a much bigger action will follow. But somehow in this narrative, Congress MLA Wadettiwar’s name got dragged, which led to media persons in Nagpur questioning Samant about the Chandrapur heavyweight’s entry.“Wadettiwar is a big name from Vidarbha whose connect with the people is well known,” said Samant. “If such a person decides to work under Shinde’s guidance, then who would say no,” said Samant.Wadettiwar has been involved in an inter-party power struggle in his home district of Chandrapur with colleague and local Congress MP Pratibha Dhanorkar. Their fight over who controls Chandrapur Municipal Corporation has spilled onto the public forum and this may have contributed to rumours about Wadettiwar joining Sena.After Samant’s claim, Wadettiwar hit back with a long post on X. Wadettiwar posted “Stop the politics of defamation! I am a loyal worker of Congress. I have honestly fulfilled every responsibility given by the party and have consistently fought for issues of the people.”He added that some people are deliberately planting rumours every time he raises his voice against the Mahayuti govt. Wadettiwar said, “Am I going to join the Shinde faction? Am I going to switch parties? Whom have I met? Such baseless news is being sown. There is no question of compromising on ideology for a position or power.”
