The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena had decided to demand Home Minister Amit Shah's resignation at the all-party meeting held in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, but purposely skipped attendance, believing its stand would cause discomfort to other opposition parties. Interestingly, in a letter to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant cited travelling for legislative work by Sawant and Sanjay Raut as the reason for the party's inability to attend the April 24 meeting. On Monday, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut revealed the 'real' reason for skipping the meeting in response to a query by NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar. "I told him (Pawar) that had we (Sena-UBT) attended the all-party meeting, we would have first demanded the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and this would have made your (the opposition's) position uncomfortable, as you were supporting the government," Raut told reporters. "Supporting the government does not mean backing its mistakes. You were all singing praises of the government. It is not in our nature to ignore mistakes," he added. Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora on Sunday took potshots at Uddhav Thackeray for being on vacation in Europe "while bullets flew in Pahalgam". In his letter to Rijiju, Sena (UBT)'s Mumbai South MP Arvind Sawant questioned the intelligence failure and lack of accountability over the terror attack, while also offering the party's support for any strong response the government decided upon. Sawant stated that he and Raut were travelling for legislative work at the time of the meeting. The meeting was called by the government after the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu Kashmir that killed 26 people. Leaders across party lines had called for decisive action against terrorism and terror camps, and assured the government of their full support, even as some opposition parties flagged security lapses in in Pahalgam.
