Dawood wants to return to India: Raj

MNS chief claims gangster is negotiating with Centre

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday claimed that fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim is keen to return to India and is negotiating with the Centre, and that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wants to gain political mileage out of it. “I have information that Dawood Ibrahim wants to come back to India, as he is unwell. He has been negotiating with the Centre,” said Mr Thackeray. Mr Thackeray’s statement sparked off a political controversy.

“Once he is ready to return to India, the Narendra Modi government will blow its own trumpet over it. It will be a political move of the BJP,” he said. Mr Thackeray made the claim in the backdrop of the recent arrest of Dawood’s brother Iqbal Kaskar over extortion charges. After losing all the major polls in the last three years, the MNS chief on Thursday tried to make a comeback by opening a Facebook account to communicate with his followers.

The BJP, however, rubbished Mr Thackeray’s comment saying that he is an insignificant leader. “The statements by the leaders are not taken seriously if people do not take them seriously,” BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said.

However, the BJP

refused to directly comment on Dawood’s return. “We have seized properties of Dawood, which was not done by the earlier government. No such action was taken in the earlier regime. We believe that people take note of the work done by the government,” he said.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) asked Mr Thackeray to come forward with more information about his claim. NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said, “Raj should explain how and where the talks between Dawood and the Indian government are happening. He should also share other information related to Dawood.”

In his speech on Thursday, Mr Thackeray targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and played the Marathi card to woo his voter base.

Once he is ready to return to India, the Narendra Modi government will blow its own trumpet over it. It will be a political move of the BJP — Raj Thackeray, MNS chief