News Analysis India

Tag: Sanjay Raut

  • Third Eye: Kerala leaders’ pain in Delhi, Badruddin Ajmal in sweet mood, and Sanjay Raut’s theory

    From Boiling Point to Rain Relief: Both BJP and Congress leaderships had brought their respective party leaders from Kerala to Delhi to campaign among the Malayalee pockets of the national capital. While these Kerala functionaries did their job, most of them wilted due to Delhi’s unfamiliar simmering summer and heat wave. Done with their job, some of them said the biggest relief was the certain prospect of returning to the torrential downpour lashing across Kerala.

    Already in ‘Sweet Mood’: Looks like AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal believes in early celebrations. Confident of victory, he is preparing a list of people to whom he will send packets of sweets. Seeking re-election from Dhubri, Ajmal is pitted against Congress’ Rakibul Hussain. Ajmal, who is an MP since 2009, said that the largest packets would be sent to MLA and Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi and AJP leader Lurinjyoti Gogoi. Both are Congress allies. He said the packets will also be sent to Assam Congress chief Bhupen Borah.

    Who is Lying? Game on: Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut has claimed in his weekly column in ‘Saamana’ that BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, at the behest of the PM and Amit shah, has helped Congress’ Vikas Thakre to defeat Union minister Nitin Gadkari. While BJP leaders and even Thakre have slammed Raut, BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar took on Raut with an interesting word play. He claimed that Raut always had a habit of lying, but it has now become an ‘addiction’. Mungantiwar added that due to his ‘fertile imagination’, Raut was churning out such ‘barren ideas’.

  • PM Modi will seek votes in the name of Lord Ram, but won’t speak on development and inflation: Sanjay Raut

    Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will seek votes in the name of Lord Ram but will not speak on development, inflation and jobs. Talking to reporters in Mumbai, Raut claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was trailing after the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections.

    The third phase of polls will take place on May 7.

    Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to visit the Ram temple in Ayodhya on Sunday and hold a roadshow. “Modi will go to Dwarka, Mathura and Ayodhya. He will go to every temple but won’t talk about development, inflation and jobs. He will not talk about why the (2019) Pulwama attack took place,” the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said. AllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther StatesHe also hit out at the prime minister over the attack in Jammu and Kashmir, in which a soldier was killed and four were injured as terrorists ambushed an Indian Air Force (IAF) convoy in Poonch district.

    “Yesterday, in broad daylight, our soldiers were attacked and killed. He will not talk about this in Ayodhya. (He will) just seek votes in the name of Lord Ram,” Raut said.

  • Lok Sabha Elections: Shiv Sena (UBT) firm on contesting from Sangli, nobody should do anything that will help BJP: Sanjay Raut

    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said that his party was firm on contesting from Maharashtra’s Sangli Lok Sabha seat, stressing that nobody should do anything that will directly help the BJP. Raut was responding to questions about Congress’ exasperation after his party on Wednesday announced its first list of 17 candidates, including for the Sangli seat and a few from Mumbai.

    The Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) are partners in the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra.

    Congress Legislature Party leader Balasaheb Thorat and Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra assembly Vijay Wadettiwar had asked their MVA partner to reconsider its decision, stressing that it did not suit “coalition dharma”. Raut said there is always give and take in an alliance and they gave Ramtek and Kolhapur seats to the Congress. He said Sena (UBT) has also given Amravati to the Congress.

    “Even our local cadres were upset but we did not allow the resentment to spiral,” he said.

    Congress took Ramtek so Sena (UBT) said it would contest from Mumbai North. In an alliance, there is a need to strengthen and expand it, not individual parties, he said. “The Congress has to lead the nation and we support the party in its endeavour. Will Congress give up the fight against BJP just for one seat (Sangli),” he asked. If the opposition alliance stays together as a cohesive unit, MVA can easily win the Sangli seat, he said. Sena (UBT) has nominated wrestler Chandrahar Patil for Sangli.

    “If someone has other intentions to help the BJP indirectly, we will not allow that to happen,” he said.

    According to Congress leaders, the party is keen to contest from Sangli, Mumbai South Central and Mumbai North West seats, all included in the list released by Sena (UBT).

    Raut was also asked about the Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) deciding to go solo in the Lok Sabha polls.

    He said it is Ambedkar’s duty to protect the Constitution and democracy. “I am sure Ambedkar will not take any step to help the BJP,” he added.

    Lok Sabha polls for Maharashtra’s 48 seats will be held in five phases between April 19 and May 20 and votes will be counted on June 4.

  • Shiv Sena: Days after Ambedkar snapped ties with Shiv Sena (UBT), Sanjay Raut says MVA hasn’t lost hope in VBA chief

    Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Monday said Maha Vikas Aghadi has not lost hope in Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar, days after the latter called off the tie-up with the Uddhav Thackeray-led party in Maharashtra. Raut claimed public support is with MVA whose electoral victory would have been grand had VBA come along.

    Talking to reporters, Raut said Ambedkar should have accepted MVA’s proposal of four seats for Lok Sabha elections, but the Opposition camp has not lost hopes on the VBA.

    “There is public support for MVA. Our victory would have been grand had Balasaheb (Prakash) Ambedkar been with us. But this does not mean we are dependent on them,” he said. Noting that Ambedkar is a respectable leader with a good party organisation, Raut said MVA leaders held discussions and kept requesting him.

    “He should have accepted the (MVA) proposal. But we still have not lost hope on him,” he added.

    Ambedkar on Saturday said he was calling off the alliance with Shiv Sena (UBT) and would declare his next move on March 26. “I am giving back their four seats,” he said on Monday. Contesting the MVA’s claim, the Dalit leader said VBA was officially offered only three seats including Akola.

    Ambedkar had virtually blamed Uddhav Thackeray for the break down of the 14-month-old alliance.

    “I had asked Uddhav Thackeray that Shiv Sena (UBT) and VBA should first sit together and chalk out strategy for a joint political path, but that didn’t happen. The VBA alliance with Sena (UBT) doesn’t exist any longer,” he had said.

    Ambedkar had also claimed that the internal strife in MVA allies- Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), and Congress- doesn’t seem to end.

    The VBA had affected the prospects of UPA candidates in Nanded, Solapur, Hatkanangale, Beed, Parbhani and Sangli seats, to name a few, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which ultimately helped NDA.

  • Shiv Sena: Why no Bharat Ratna for Savarkar: Shiv Sena (UBT) slams Centre

    The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday attacked the BJP-led Centre for not conferring Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award, on Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar. Addressing a news conference, Sena (UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut called the Centre’s decision to honour former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur with the award posthumously a political move.

    Since the Narendra Modi government took charge in Delhi (in 2014), 11 people have been conferred the highest civilian award, but Savarkar has not found a place on the list, said Raut.

    Thakur was named for the Bharat Ratna on Tuesday on the eve of the birth centenary of the fountainhead of OBC (other backward classes) politics in Bihar. Thakur, who passed away in 1988, was the first non-Congress socialist leader who became chief minister twice – first for seven months in December 1970 and later for two years in 1977.

    “Our position remains the same that Veer Savarkar should be given the Bharat Ratna. Karpoori Thakur is a leader of the OBC and we are happy that he has been named for the Bharat Ratna,” Raut said.

    Since it is a poll season, Bihar is important for the BJP, Raut said. Bihar, which sends 40 MPs to the Lok Sabha, is currently governed by Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal. “BJP’s every step is for political selfishness. Key people who participated in the freedom struggle are honoured but why is Savarkar not conferred on Bharat Ratna? Why is BJP fleeing from conferring Bharat Ratna on him,” Raut asked. A polarising figure in modern Indian history, Savarkar is known as “Swatantryaveer” and is revered among several quarters in the country, especially Maharashtra, for his contribution to the freedom struggle.

    However, critics charge him as a hard-line Hindutva leader.

  • Ram temple consecration: Ram temple consecration: Uddhav sent invitation by speed post; Sanjay Raut slams govt

    Shiv Sena (UBT) president and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has been sent an invitation by speed post for the Ram temple consecration ceremony to be held in Ayodhya on Monday. Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut hit out at the government over the manner in which the Thackeray family has been treated.

    Maharashtra minister Uday Samant, who belongs to the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, said speed post is used to ensure the invitation reaches faster and it has been done.

    However, Raut reacted sharply to the speed post invite saying, “You worship Lord Ram, and rule like Ravan (demon king). Lord Ram will curse you. All film stars are invited but the Thackeray family that has been closely associated with movement is treated in such a manner.” Uddhav Thackeray will be in Nashik for a two-day visit from Monday.

    He will offer prayers at the Kalaram temple there and perform a ‘maha aarti’ on the Godavari river bank on Monday.

    On Tuesday, he will participate in a day-long convention of his party in Nashik. The much-awaited Ram temple consecration will be held in Ayodhya city of Uttar Pradesh on Monday in a grand ceremony with Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the rituals, following which the shrine will be opened for the public a day later. While more than 7,000 people are in the long list of invitees, the select list features 506 A-listers.

    Those attending the “Pran Prathishtha” also include people linked to the agitation for the temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi.

    Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, business tycoons Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, and sporting icon Sachin Tendulkar are among the prominent people to be invited.

    Almost all opposition leaders invited to the ceremony have declined to attend the ceremony, with the Congress calling it a BJP-RSS event.