Will die but won’t quit Sena: Raut
Claims he is targeted by ED over political vendetta; Uddhav smells conspiracy
In a huge blow to the Shiv Sena, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Sunday detained its senior leader Sanjay Raut in a Mumbai land scam case after hours of conducting searches at his residence. However, the defiant leader said that he was being targeted due to a political vendetta and that he won’t leave the Shiv Sena despite the action by the Central agency. He claimed that the ED was going to arrest him in a “fake case”.
The ED action against Raut is considered as a huge blow to Shiv Sena supreme Uddhav Thackeray, who is facing a rebellion within his party with the desertion of 40 MLAS that resulted in the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra.
Raut had stood firmly behind Uddhav in the latter’s hour of crisis and was also at the forefront in attacking the BJP and the rebels. Addressing party leaders and workers from Thane on Sunday afternoon, the Shiv Sena chief said that Raut might be arrested at any time and the ED’S action was a “conspiracy” against the Shiv Sena.
Raut was summoned for questioning by the ED in a
money laundering case linked to the alleged irregularities in the `1,034 crore Patra Chawl redevelopment land scam.
He had appeared before the agency in Mumbai to record his statement on July 1 in connection with the case. After that, the ED had summoned him twice, but he had skipped them, saying that he was busy due to the ongoing Parliament session.
At 7 am on Sunday, the
ED sleuths, accompanied by CRPF personnel, reached Raut’s “Maitri” bungalow, located in suburban Bhandup, and began the search. The search went on for nine hours.
As soon as the ED action began, Raut tweeted: “I swear by the late Balasabheb Thackeray that I have nothing to do with any scam.” He then added: “I will die but won’t leave the Shiv Sena.”
During the ED search, hundreds of Shiv Sena workers, holding saffron flags and banners in their hands, gathered outside Raut’s residence and shouted slogans against the Central agency.
Raut waved to his supporters from the window of his house.
His family members, including his wife Varsha Raut, were also seen getting emotional standing by him.