The Shiv Sena (UBT) served a legal notice to Neelam Gorhe, Member and Deputy Chairperson of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, three days after she made the allegation that leaders had to gift two Mercedez cars to secure plum posts in the undivided Shiv Sena.The legal notice was served through advocate Asim Sarode by Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare, who is also the deputy leader of the party.The notice said Gorhe made certain defamatory statements against Shiv Sena (UBT) and its chief Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray while delivering a speech at the Akhil Bharitya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan held in Delhi on January 23, 2025.The notice said Gorhe claimed that in the then undivided Shiv Sena under Uddhav Thackeray, key posts were allotted to people who gifted Mercedes car to the party chief.”She also said the appointments within the Shiv Sena (UBT) party were given only to those who were able to achieve it via monetary means. This was a scurrilous statement, which is damaging the reputation of the original Shiv Sena..,” the notice said.The notice said Gorhe’s statements were widely reported in the media and have damaged the reputation of both the Shiv Sena (UBT) and its chief.The notice pointed out that former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and former Union Environment Minister Suresh Prabhu too spoke in the Sammelan but without making any controversial statements.Story continues below this ad”They centred their talk around the politics of Maharashtra, Marathi speaking people and Marathi literature. For instance, former CM Prithiviraj Chavan said it will be injustice to not credit former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for getting classical language status to Marathi. People who are thoughtful always talk and express something in a dignified manner and they seldomly try to take undue advantage of any forum being made available to them,” said the notice.”It is regrettable that you (Gorhe) have chosen the literary forum to make baseless allegations and defame the then undivided original Shiv Sena along with the chief…Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray,” the notice said.”Even the organizers of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan have publicly expressed their displeasure by saying that ‘we cannot stop anybody from making such statements but we expect them to respect the literary conferences. There are other platforms to speak out and settle personal scores. This was not the venue for such allegations,” read the notice issued by the Sena (UBT).Taking a dig at Gorhe, the legal notice said, “All Marathi population would like to know how many Mercedes cars have been gifted to the party chief Uddhav Thackeray and where are all the gifted Mercedes cars kept? Gorhe should also provide the registration numbers of all such…cars if your allegations hold any merit.”Story continues below this adStating that Gorhe too was given key position by the undivided Shiv Sena, the notice said, “Maharashtra should know how many Mercedes cars were gifted by her. She should disclose names of such party member who had gifted Mercedes cars to Uddhav Thackeray and what key posts they got after gifting such Mercedes cars.”The notice said it was unfortunate that Gorhe was indulging in making such derogatory, defamatory and false statements just to create “meaningless sensationalism.”Despite repeated attempts for communication, Gorhe was not available for comment.Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd