News Analysis India

Tag: Sanjay Raut

  • ‘Attack’ on Sharad Pawar’s residence orchestrated by those for whom MVA government has become ‘eyesore’: Sanjay Raut

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Friday said an “invisible force” could be behind the MSRTC workers’ surprise protest outside NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s residence here.

    In an apparent swipe at the BJP, he said it was orchestrated by those for whom the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress `MVA’ coalition government in Maharashtra is an “eyesore”.

    The “attack” on Pawar’s residence was unfortunate and it must be ascertained who was behind it, Raut told reporters here.

    “The government took all the steps and held discussions to resolve the MSRTC strike. Almost all demands of the employees have been met, but still an invisible force is trying to vitiate the environment.

    A group is incited to undertake acts like the one that happened today,” the Sena leader said.

    “Those for whom the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government has become an eyesore are trying to orchestrate such acts,” he said in an apparent reference to the BJP.

    Over a hundred striking workers of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) staged angry protests outside Pawar’s residence in south Mumbai on Friday afternoon, accusing the veteran leader of not doing anything to help them.

    The police too were caught by surprise by this sudden protest.

    Raut also said the way the protesters responded to Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule when she tried to talk with them did not behove democratic traditions.

    “These people’s leaders have to be found out,” he added.

  • ED action on Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut: Vindictive politics, says Maharashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray

    By PTI

    PUNE: Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday said the ED action against his party colleague and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut was “vindictive politics”.

    The Enforcement Directorate has attached eight land parcels in Alibaug and a flat in Mumbai’s Dadar suburb linked to Raut and his family under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, officials had said earlier in the day.

    Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an alternate fuel event here, Thackeray also said all constituents of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi were standing strongly with each other.

    “It is clear cut this (ED action) is happening with a political motive. It is happening due to vindictive politics. Whatever is happening in our country, it is certainly not an atmosphere of democracy, an atmosphere of politics. There is an atmosphere of pressure politics,” said Thackeray.

    If such acts continued, there was a scope to think if there was democracy left in the country, the Sena minister said.

    “Earlier, someone in a public rally said if you do not vote for a particular party, an inquiry will be initiated. If common people are being given such threats, there is a need to think if democracy still exists,” he added.

  • BJP promoting ‘The Kashmir Files’ with eye on Assembly polls in Gujarat, Rajasthan: Shiv Sena

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday accused the BJP of promoting ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie with an eye on the forthcoming Assembly polls in Gujarat and Rajasthan, and also alleged that an attempt has been made in the film to suppress several “harsh truths”.

    In his weekly column ‘Rokhthok’ in Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, Raut said it was the BJP’s promise to ensure the return of displaced Kashmiri Pandits to Kashmir, but the same has not happened despite the abrogation of Article 370, and sought to know whose failure it was.

    Raut also labelled Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being the main promoter of the film. Attacking the BJP further, the Rajya Sabha member asked the NDA constituent what happened to its promise of integrating Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) with India.

    Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri and produced by Zee Studios, the film ‘The Kashmir Files’ depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Hindus from Kashmir following systematic killings of people from the community by Pakistan-backed terrorists.

    Since its release on March 11, the film has sparked a debate among political parties. Several BJP-ruled states, including Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, have exempted the film from entertainment tax. “The story based on the fleeing of Hindu Pandits in Kashmir, their killings, atrocities inflicted on them and their anger disturbs one’s mind. But what disturbs even more is (the attempt) to divide Hindu-Muslims out of it (the story) again and win the upcoming elections. The Kashmir file has been opened to win the (forthcoming) elections in states like Gujarat and Rajasthan,” Raut said.

    Raut said that films like ‘The Kashmir Files’ should be created, but – he alleged – the agenda of such movies has now been to spread hatred and confusion about (political) opponents.

    The Shiv Sena leader said the makers of ‘The Kashmir Files’ had earlier produced ‘The Tashkent Files’, through which, he alleged, it was implied that only the Gandhi family was responsible for the death of former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

    “In ‘The Kashmir Files’, an attempt has been made to suppress several other harsh truths while showing true news. Thirty-two years ago, the atmosphere in Kashmir was bad not only for Kashmiri Pandits, but for all, and the Kashmiri Pandits were the most-affected,” Raut said.

    The Rajya Sabha member noted that Kashmiri Sikhs and Muslims, too, were among those killed in Kashmir at that time, besides Kashmir Pandits. Raut said that the first political murder in Kashmir was of National Conference leader Mohammed Yousuf Halwai in August 1989.

    Before that, an attack was made on the inspector general of police, in which the officer’s bodyguard was killed, he added. “Several such truths are hidden through ‘The Kashmir Files’,” he alleged.

    Raut said that Kashmiri Pandits were not impelled to flee Kashmir for 43 years after the Independence. He further added there was a BJP-supported VP Singh government at the Centre when the Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs had to leave Kashmir in 1990.

    “BJP leader Jagmohan was the Governor of Kashmir (then). The Kashmir file was in cold storage when the Hindus were dying in the Valley and fleeing it,” Raut said, adding only late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray was voicing support for the Kashmiri Pandits at that time.

    Raut further also asked the BJP how it formed a government with the PDP (in March 2015) “which had shaken hands with militants”. “These people (BJP) did not even condemn the displacement and killings of Kashmiri Pandits at that time,” Raut said.

    He asked why were the BJP ministers in that government were silent when the PDP had termed 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru as “freedom fighter” and questioned the killing of terrorist Burhan Wani by security personnel.

    Raut also asked the BJP what happened to its announcement of integrating PoK with India.

    The Shiv Sena leader said Thackeray had ensured five per cent reservation for children of displaced Kashmiri Pandits in medical and engineering education in Maharashtra and asked why BJP-ruled states never took such a decision.

    Referring to the deaths of 40 CRPF jawans in the 2019 Pulwama attack, Raut said the security personnel may not have been “pandits” and asked whose fault was it that they lost their lives in the incident. “Isn’t the file of Kashmir incidents smeared with our blood due to attacks like Uri, Pathankot to Pulwama?” he asked.

  • Mumbai cops probing extortion charges against four ED officers: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Alleging that Enforcement Directorate and some of its officers were acting as an “ATM” for the BJP, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said the Mumbai Police were probing “extortion” charges against four officers of the federal anti-money laundering agency and that some of them will go to jail.

    Addressing a news conference here, Raut said a complaint has been lodged with the Mumbai Police to probe “corruption” and the “extortion racket”.

    Separately, the Mumbai Police is probing BJP leader Kirit Somaiya’s business relations with Rakesh Wadhwan, one of the accused in the PMC bank scam, Raut said.

    He alleged that whenever Enforcement Directorate raids any company, it has transferred money to firms belonging to one Jitendra Navlani.

    Raut claimed that Navlani was close to many BJP leaders.

    “The ED and some of its officials have become an ATM (automated teller machine) for the BJP,” Raut said, maintaining he has shared details of the same with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

    “The Mumbai Police were probing extortion and corruption charges against four ED officials. The Mumbai Police are capable of that. And mark my words…some ED officials will go to jail,” the Rajya Sabha MP claimed.

    Raut said one former ED official even contested the election on a BJP ticket and also funded the expenses of 50 party candidates.

    He, however, did not share any details on his claim.

    He alleged that ED officials and their “agents” in Mumbai are involved in “intimidating and extorting money” from builders, developers and corporates.

    Raut, however, did not reveal the identities or designations of these ED officials but added that he will name them in his next press conference.

    Elaborating further on Navlani, Raut said the former has seven companies.

    “Whenever there has been an ED probe, Navlani’s company received money from the company which was raided by the central agency. The companies have no office, no staff,” he claimed.

    The Shiv Sena MP also furnished a list of companies, which he claimed, transferred money to Navlani’s firms.

    Attacking Somaiya, who has levelled corruption charges against leaders close to the Thackerays, Raut said the BJP leader and his son will go to jail for alleged financial transactions with the Wadhwans.

    His remarks came on a day when some Shiv Sena office-bearers, including a leader considered close to Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray, were raided by the Income Tax Department.

    Raut said the I-T department’s action comes ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls.

    The BMC – which is controlled by the Sena for more than two and half decades — is the country’s richest civic body with a budget more than many smaller states.

    The actions of Central agencies are also aimed at destabilising the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

    He said 14 main people from the MVA government have been targeted by the central agencies so far.

    “Your (the BJP’s) actions will boomerang,” Raut said.

  • BJP seeks Malik’s resignation after arrest by ED; Sena says he was held in ‘cunning manner’

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The BJP on Wednesday demanded the resignation of Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik following his arrest by the ED, but Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut countered it saying that the NCP leader should not be asked to step down as he was held in a “cunning manner”.

    The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Malik in a money laundering case linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, his aides and the Mumbai underworld.

    The 62-year-old NCP leader was taken to the ED’s office in south Mumbai for questioning in the morning and was later arrested. Malik is the first serving cabinet minister to be arrested on money laundering charges.

    Following his arrest, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil demanded that the minister should be removed from the state cabinet.

    ALSO READ | Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik produced before special court after arrest by ED in money laundering case

    Speaking to reporters, he said, “There is a law, which states that a minister should be removed from his post if he is facing criminal charges. Malik should be removed or asked to step down from his post.”

    Apart from being the chief spokesperson of NCP, Malik is the Minority Affairs and Skill Development Minister in the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress’s Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

    “Two chief ministers of Maharashtra had resigned from their post in the past after facing such serious allegations. It is a tradition in the state to step away from a constitutional post till the charges are cleared,” he said.

    ALSO READ | ED arrests Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik in money laundering case

    BJP leader Kirit Somaiya said, “After former home minister Anil Deshmukh, now Malik has been arrested under the ongoing probe by the ED. Those ministers who are indulging in corrupt practices in the Uddhav Thackeray-led government will face the consequences. We will make Maharashtra corruption-free.”

    Countering the BJP’s attack, Sanjay Raut said in a tweet, “Attempts of backstabbing are on since it is not possible to fight the MVA face-to-face. Let it be. Let there be euphoria that a minister has been arrested in a cunning manner. Nawab Malik shouldn’t be asked to resign. We will fight and win. Even Kansa and Ravana were killed. This is Hindutva. Jai maharashtra!”

  • Raut wants Rashmi Thackeray’s ‘apology’ in Korlai bungalows case to become public: Kirit Somaiya

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: In a counter-attack, BJP leader Kirit Somaiya on Wednesday alleged that Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut deliberately referred to the old controversy over “19 bungalows” in Korlai village because he bore a “grudge” against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his family members for not backing him when certain allegations were raised against him.

    Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Somaiya, a former MP from Mumbai, claimed that it was a known fact that Rashmi Thackeray, wife of Uddhav Thackeray who heads Shiv Sena, had tendered a written “apology” to the Korlai gram panchayat in the Raigad district in connection with the “19 bungalows” controversy.

    “But Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut deliberately dug out the issue of 19 bungalows in his press conference on Tuesday because he wants that letter of Rashmi Thackeray to come out in the public.”

    “Raut is harbouring a grudge against the Thackerays because none of them stood behind him when I had levelled allegations against him (Raut), his friends and his relatives. I had raised the issue of 19 bungalows in January 2021 but it was not even discussed in the last some months,” Somaiya alleged.

    He said Raut deliberately avoided speaking on the “scam” in the allotment of COVID care centres in Mumbai in his presser but chose to speak about these bungalows.

    Somaiya had alleged a scam in the allotment of COVID care centres in Mumbai and submitted a police complaint on Tuesday.

    “People should ask Sanjay Raut about the letter Rashmi Thackeray had submitted to the Korlai gram panchayat tendering apology in the case of 19 bungalows,” he said.

    When asked about Raut’s challenge to him to show where these bungalows are located, the BJP leader claimed, “Rashmi Thackeray and Manisha Ravindra Waikar have jointly paid the property tax on November 12, 2020. Why would they pay the property tax of a bungalow if it does not exist? It is an RTGS transaction and the Korlai gram panchayat has issued a receipt of receiving the payment”.

    Queried on the source of these details, Somaiya said he knew because his in-laws hailed from Revdanda village located opposite Korlai village.

    “Those people first pointed out this issue to me, thus I came to know. All those bungalows were constructed by the late Anvay Naik, who later sold it to the Thackerays and Waikar. The purchase agreement was signed in 2014,” he claimed.

    In May 2018, interior designer Anvay Naik, along with his mother Kumud Naik, were found dead at their bungalow in Alibaug.

    According to the police, Anvay had committed suicide.

    Addressing a press conference at the Shiv Sena headquarters in Mumbai on Tuesday, Sanjay Raut had launched a personal attack against Somaiya, who has been raising a slew of allegations against the Sena brass and other leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

    Raut had alleged that Neil Somaiya, son of Kirit Somaiya, had links with Rakesh Wadhwan, an accused in the PMC bank fraud and demanded the arrest of the father-son duo.

    Denying allegations, Kirit Somaiya had said that he was ready to face any investigation.

    “I have done nothing wrong. I was never indulged in corruption. I am ready to face any inquiry,” he had said.

  • Sanjay Raut alleges Rs 25,000 crore job scam during Fadnavis regime, demands probe

    Express News Service

    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday alleged that the BJP-led Centre is troubling Sena leaders and their family members and friends by using central agencies.

    Briefing media persons here, Raut said, “Central agencies are troubling our party leaders. Pressure is being created on our leaders using these agencies. Some BJP leaders are saying that the Maha Vikas Aghadi government will fall on March 10. All these rumours started after I wrote to Venkaiah Naidu.”

    Raut further alleged that during the previous Devendra Fadnavis government, there was the Rs 25,000 crore job recruitment scam that has to be probed. 

    Raut also called BJP leader Kirit Somaiya an “agent of the ED. “Kirit Somaiya is the mastermind in PMC bank scam. Somaiya and his son should be arrested in connection with the case. To whom does Nikon Infra Construction company belong? PMC case accused Rakesh Wadhwan and Somaiya’s son are partners in this company,” alleged Raut.

    The Sena leader further said CM Uddhav Thackeray should initiate a probe into the case by the Economic Offense Wing (EOW). 

    Somaiya goes to the ED office in Mumbai and eats Kichadi and conspires against the Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders, Raut said.

    ALSO READ | Some BJP leaders will be behind bars in next few days, claims Sanjay Raut

    Raut attacked BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar too alleging that in his daughter’s wedding, a Rs 9 crore carpet was used. “Why is ED not probing it?” he asked.

    “I called Union Home Minister Amit Shah and told him that he can target me, but not my family. If they want to fight with us, they can do that but our families should not be involved,” Raut said, adding that he is Balasaheb Thackeray’s Sainik and not afraid of ED and other central agencies.

    Raut also alleged that some ED officers through their agents collected Rs 200 crore from the developers in Mumbai. “I have all the proof and soon, will put them before the people. The ED officers are forcing people to give statements against me. The central agencies should work in a fair manner, and not as puppets in the hand of the BJP leaders,” Raut said.

    Raut alleged BJP leader Mohit Kamboj calling him a front-man and blue-eyed boy of former chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnvis. “Mohit Kamboj bought the Rs 1200 crore-worth land at Patra Chawl project by paying only Rs 100 crore. The EOW should carry out the inquiry in these transactions.”

    Meanwhile, BJP leader Prasad Lad refuted all the charges made by Sanjay Raut saying that he has lost his mental balance. Lad’s party colleague Mohit Kamboj said that he would file a defamation suit against Raut. Sudhir Mungantiwar also refuted allegations of his daughter’s wedding expenses. “Everything is in public. I have paid the tax and even Uddhav Thackeray had attended my daughter’s wedding ceremony,” Mungantiwar said.

  • Sanjay Raut claims some people approached him to help topple Maha govt; writes to Vice President

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has written a letter to Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, claiming he was approached by “certain people” who asked him to assist in toppling the MVA government in Maharashtra so that the state could be forced into mid-term elections.

    Raut, who is the Rajya Sabha member, asserted that the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government will complete its five-year term, and said he will not bow down and will continue to speak the truth.

    He claimed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other central agencies were being used with the “oblique motive” of toppling democratically elected governments. In the letter to Naidu, who is also the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Raut said central agencies like the ED were “systematically targeting” Shiv Sena leaders, after the party formed the (MVA) government in Maharashtra with the NCP and Congress after severing ties with its old ally BJP.

    Raut requested Naidu to take note of the “abuse of power” and alleged harassment of Rajya Sabha members, and said the vice president should also speak up and take action in this connection.

    Seeking to put up a brave face, the Rajya Sabha member also said he is “not scared and will not bow down”, and will continue to speak truth both inside and outside the House.

    The Shiv Sena’s chief spokesperson wrote the letter to Naidu on Tuesday and also sent its copies to leaders like Congress’s Rahul Gandhi and NCP president Sharad Pawar.

    Addressing reporters in Delhi on Wednesday, Raut said the letter was “just a trailer”, and he will expose how (some) ED personnel were allegedly running a “criminal syndicate of the BJP”.

    “About a month ago, I was approached by certain people and was told to assist them in toppling the state government in Maharashtra. They wanted me to be instrumental in such an endeavour so that the state could be forced into a mid-term election,” Raut alleged in the letter.

    Raut further said he refused to be a part of the “clandestine” agenda, and claimed he was told that his refusal would lead to him “paying a heavy price”.

    The Sena leader claimed he was even told that his fate could be like that of a former railway minister who spent many years in jail.

    “I was even warned that apart from me, two other senior ministers in the Maharashtra cabinet would also be sent behind bars under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act), which would lead to mid-term elections in the Maharashtra, with all important leaders in the state being behind bars,” he said.

    Raut said the law to prevent money laundering became effective on January 17, 2003.

    But, transactions which took place before that date and had nothing to do with money laundering are being investigated by the central agencies with the “oblique and ulterior motive” of harassing and terrorising political opponents of the BJP, he said.

    “ED and other central agencies are being used with the oblique motive of toppling democratically elected governments, which is certainly not a healthy sign for any country where democracy prevails,” he added.

    Raut accused the ED of threatening people who sold land to him and his family about 17 years ago and in 2012-13, forcing them (the sellers) into issuing statements against him.

    The Shiv Sena leader said the decorators and other vendors roped in for his daughter’s wedding function were also being “intimidated and threatened so as to extract statements” that they received Rs 50 lakh in cash from him.

    He alleged that the ED and other agencies have unlawfully picked up 28 people in these connections so far.

    “I, with all due humility, wish to state that I am not scared, nor am I going to bow down, and I will continue to speak the truth, both in the House and outside the House,” the parliamentarian said.

    Raut said he perceives actions of the central agencies as an attack on his right to speak freely and on democracy.

    “I urge you to not just take note of the abuse of power to perpetuate intimidation and harassment of members of the Rajya Sabha, but also to speak up and take action,” Raut said in the letter to Naidu.

    Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Raut targeted the Centre, alleging that the voice of opposition leaders is being suppressed in a more severe manner now than during the time of Emergency.

    “But they (BJP) are under an illusion and people like us will not fall for such oppressive actions or forces.

    I can understand the pain they are feeling since the Maharashtra government was formed.

    They should fight politically.

    .

    .

    the agencies like ED and others have become part of the criminal syndicate of the BJP or their masters,” he alleged.

    Raut said his letter to Naidu is not even a trailer and that he will expose how the ED “runs a syndicate, blackmails and engages in money laundering”.

    “You think we will bow down? The baseless people from the BJP have often been saying that I will be put in the lock-up next to that of (former Maharashtra minister) Anil Deshmukh (arrested by the ED in a money laundering case).

    “It’s alright, we will go.

    But keep in mind you will also land in the lock-up next to us, because you have committed more sins, while we are clear.

    We are not afraid of you,” the Sena leader said.

    Asked about the people who made him the offer of toppling the Maharashtra government, Raut said he will talk about it in near future, but claimed it was “a joint venture of leaders from Delhi and Mumbai”.

    He also alleged that two-three people were issuing orders to the ED in Mumbai on whom to be summoned or tortured.

    “I appeal to (BJP leader) Devendra Fadnavis and he knows what I have got to say,” Raut added.

    Later, without naming anyone, Raut also said that “you won’t be able to go to Nagpur if we take on you”.

    “…the ED will pay the price for it and I am ready to pay whatever price for the country and for the agency’s reputation,” he added.

    Notably, Nagpur is the hometown of former Maharashtra CM Fadnavis.

    Raut also said the Shiv Sena is being troubled since it won the Dadra and Nagar Haveli Lok Sabha bypoll held last year.

    He said the Shiv Sena will expand and contest 100 seats in the Lok Sabha polls in future.

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  • PM Modi can’t claim to be ‘fakir’ after Rs 12 crore car in his cavalcade: Sanjay Raut

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not call himself a ‘fakir’ now with the addition of a “Rs 12 crore” car in his cavalcade.

    In his weekly column ‘Rokhthok’ in the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, Raut also praised former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru for always using an Indian-made car, and late PM Indira Gandhi for not replacing her security guards despite a threat to her life.

    “On December 28, media reported pictures of a Rs 12 crore car for Prime Minister Modi. A person who calls himself a fakir, a pradhan sevak, uses a foreign made car,” Raut said.

    “The prime minister’s security and comfort are important, but from now on, the pradhan sevak should not reiterate that he is a fakir (ascetic),” the Rajya Sabha member said.

    A Mercedes-Maybach S650 Guard was recently added to the prime minister’s cavalcade by the Special Protection Group. The price quoted for a Maybach car in a section of the media is over Rs 12 crore.

    However, government sources had said the new car was a replacement of the BMW used by the prime minister as the German carmaker stopped production of the vehicle.

    Official sources had also said the SPG security detail has a six-year norm to replace vehicles used for the protectee and that Modi has not given any preference on which cars to use. They also said that the car costs about one-third of the price quoted in the media.

    Raut on Sunday said Modi, who started ‘swadeshi’ initiatives like ‘Make in India’ and ‘Start-Up India’, is using a foreign manufactured car.

    Praising Jawaharlal Nehru, the Shiv Sena’s spokesperson said the country’s first prime minister, despite security threat after the partition, always used an Indian-made Ambassador car.

    He also said that (former PM) Indira Gandhi, despite a threat to her life, did not change Sikh security personnel deployed for her security.

    Besides, (former prime minister) Rajiv Gandhi mingled with crowd in Tamil Nadu and got killed by the LTTE, he said. “He (Rajiv Gandhi) should not have dared to mingle with the crowd. But, he did,” Raut said.

    Targeting the Centre over night curbs in the wake of the rise in COVID-19 cases again in parts of the country, the Sena leader said the Union government has imposed such restrictions at night, resulting in financial losses.

    PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Samajwadi Party head Akhilesh Yadav address rallies which are attended by lakhs of people. But, the restrictions are only for the common man, Raut said.

  • Uddhav government to rule Maharashtra for 25 years: Raut to BJP, Owaisi

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena on Tuesday pooh-poohed the Maharashtra BJP’s claim that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government will soon collapse and asserted the three-party ruling alliance in the state will remain in power for 25 years.

    Talking to reporters after a meeting with NCP president Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut hit out at the BJP over the recent riots in Amravati and the ongoing strike by Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) employees.

    The NCP is a key constituent of the Shiv Sena-led MVA government.

    The Congress is the third partner in the coalition.

    Taking a dig at state BJP president Chandrakant Patil for his reported comments that the MVA dispensation will soon collapse, Raut said he should wake up from slumber as the government will complete its second anniversary on November 28.

    The Sena MP said the MVA government will last for 25 years and its power centre is where he is standing, a reference to Pawar’s residence.

    “He (Patil) must be getting shocks after the early morning oath-taking ceremony. Chandrakant Patil has said this (predicting collapse of MVA) for nearly 28 times. The government will last for 25 years and I am standing near the power centre,” Raut said.

    In a dramatic turn of events on November 23, 2019, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Maharashtra CM with NCP legislator Ajit Pawar as his deputy in the wee hours, but their government lasted just for around 80 hours.

    The NCP president is considered the chief architect of the three-party alliance which assumed office on November 28, 2019.

    Without naming the BJP, a former ally of the Sena, Raut hit out at the opposition party over the ongoing strike by MSRTC employees and the recent violence in Amravati in eastern Maharashtra.

    “Everyone knows who is inciting the situation in Maharashtra and why it is being done, who is adding oil to the fire on the MSRTC issue, we have the information about this,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.

    Attempts are being made to set fire in Maharashtra, from Amravati (a reference to the recent riots in the city) to MSRTC workers strike, Raut alleged.

    BJP MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe on Tuesday said the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which is set to complete two years in power in Maharashtra later this month, has failed on all fronts and people were distressed.

    Addressing a press conference, he said the Uddhav Thackeray government had mismanaged issues related to women’s security, farmers, the MPSC and health department exams, MSRTC staff demands and students’ problems.

    “There has been an increase in violence against women, and the government is no longer talking about a bill they were planning to bring to curb it. It has forgotten ST (state transport) workers. Farmers have not got crop insurance or relief from the state government,” he alleged.

    All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday said the Shiv Sena was a communal party and the so-called secular parties like the Congress and NCP had joined hands with the Uddhav Thackeray-led outfit to grab power in Maharashtra.

    In the process, Owaisi, who was addressing a party convention in Solapur, said the Muslim community had got a slap on the face from the Congress and NCP.

    “Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray decided to come together. I was urging the (Muslim) community to come together but you did not understand my appeal. Now they have come together and slapped you on the face,” he said.

    “I want to ask all those Muslims who became the victims of the lies of the NCP and Congress if they have an answer to my question. Will you be able to answer yourself that the parties you supported brought the Sena to power,” he asked.

    The Shiv Sena, like the BJP, was and would remain communal, Owaisi said, adding that “the Majlis, Muslims, Dalits or those who believe in secular values” do not need any certificate on secularism from such parties.

    Attacking Rahul Gandhi and Pawar, Owaisi said the two leaders ask Muslims to not vote for AIMIM, but had themselves aligned with the Sena to safeguard power, properties and families.

    “Have you forgotten what happened on the streets of Mumbai? Have you forgotten the Srikrishna Commission? Have you forgotten all those hateful statements? I remember everything,” Owaisi said further in his attack on the Congress and NCP.

    “Is it not true that CM Thackeray, standing in the Assembly, spoke about temple and masjid. Do you (NCP and Congress ) not feel ashamed when your CM says that we (Shiv Sena ) demolished Babri Masjid,” he said, and appealed to the Muslims to not believe the NCP and Congress anymore and to use their vote wisely.