Mumbai: A day after his release from jail in a money laundering case, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday made a blistering attack on the Centre and claimed that his arrest was “political” and that such kind of “vendetta politics” was not seen in the country earlier. Raut also said that he would also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the days to come.
The Shiv Sena MP is slated to meet his party president Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar today.
A special court in Mumbai granted bail to Rajya Sabha member Raut on Wednesday, saying his arrest was “illegal” and a “witch-hunt.” Raut, who was released from Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail on Wednesday after 100 days, told reporters here on Thursday that he will soon meet his party chief Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar.
The NCP is an ally of the Thackeray-led Sena faction. Raut said he will also meet Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the coming days. The Rajya Sabha Sena MP said he will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, but did not give details about it.
“I was in solitary confinement, just like Savarkar and Tilak. Even my arrest was political and I used my time for a good purpose. Whatever my party, my family, and I had to endure, we have suffered. My family has lost a lot. It happens in life and politics,” Raut said.
“But the country has never seen this kind of politics. Our country was under foreign rule for 150 years, but we did not see this kind of political vendetta in the country. Even the enemies were treated nicely,” he said.
Raut claimed the state was being run by Deputy CM Fadnavis and that the new (Eknath Shinde-Fadnavis) government had taken some good decisions. “A new govt was formed in Maharashtra, I welcome some of their good decisions. Dy CM Devendra Fadanvis took some good decisions. We feel that the state is being run by Dy CM Fadnavis and he is leading the state,” Shiv Sena (Uddhav) MP said.
Raut, a key leader of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, visited the Siddhivinayak Temple here to seek the blessings of Lord Ganesh soon after his release from the Arthur Road Jail on Wednesday evening. Raut was accompanied by his brother, MLA Sunil Raut, and party leaders during his visit to the iconic temple in Prabhadevi in central Mumbai.
The parliamentarian also visited a Hanuman temple in south Mumbai and the Bal Thackeray memorial in Shivaji Park. Raut was released from jail at around 6.50 pm, but he could only reach his residence in Nahur in northeast Mumbai at around 10.30 pm.
The senior politician’s bungalow was decorated with lights and hundreds of his supporters gathered outside his home to welcome him as they burst firecrackers and played DJ music. The 60-year-old Rajya Sabha member was arrested on August 1 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to a housing project in suburban Goregaon.
In a show of strength, hundreds of workers of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) had gathered outside the Arthur Road Jail in central Mumbai carrying saffron flags. There was a long queue of cars belonging to party workers waiting for Raut’s release.
The moment he stepped out of the prison, where he was lodged for more than three months, Raut was given a rousing welcome by Shiv Sena (UBT) activists. They raised slogans in favour of Raut as well as party chief Uddhav Thackeray, smeared ‘gulal’ on each other and furiously beat drums.
The Rajya MP, who had draped a saffron stole around his neck, waived and greeted people gathered outside the jail. Talking to reporters, Raut said the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray was the “real” party that was founded by the late Bal Thackeray. The only Sena which is real is the one that was founded by Balasaheb Thackeray and is now being led by Uddhav Thackeray, he said.
Bureau Report
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