Hidden cameras and a Pegasus-like surveillance system were used to honeytrap Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) legislators and parliamentarians, leading to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in 2022, the Shiv Sena (UBT) claimed on Tuesday.

The party’s mouthpiece, ‘Saamana’, in an editorial said that some Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the undivided Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) switched loyalties owing to pressure from Central agencies. At least 18 MLAs and four Members of Parliament (MP) were “honeytrapped”, prompting them to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to save their image.

The editorial further pointed out that Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar had alleged that MPs and MLAs were blackmailed and as a former leader of the opposition, his remarks must be taken seriously.