Mumbai, June 24 -- Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar criticised the recent political developments in Maharashtra following the defection of six Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha MPs to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, saying such developments were sending a wrong message to the public and reflecting the deteriorating state of politics in the country.

Speaking to ANI on the developments, which the Shinde camp has dubbed "Operation Tiger", Wadettiwar said responsibility lay not only with those engineering political splits but also with those choosing to leave their parties.

"How can we blame only those who cause the split? Those who leave are also at fault. Does this imply that no one should ever be in the opposition? All this is merely for show; the...