Maharashtra Governor a BJP karyakarta, alleges Raut

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Sena leader Sanjay Raut also said that the state government could order a probe under a retired high court judge to investigate the allegations levelled against home minister Anil Deshmukh by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh

Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sent a delegation to Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Wednesday over the “situation” in the state, Shiv Sena alluded to “BJP karyakarta” in Raj Bhavan which itself has become a “political adda”.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut. (HT archive)

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Sena leader Sanjay Raut also said that the state government could order a probe under a retired high court judge to investigate the allegations levelled against home minister Anil Deshmukh by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh.

In their meeting with Koshyari, the BJP delegation had requested the Governor to send a report on the state’s situation to President Ram Nath Kovind to which Raut responded by saying, “They [BJP leaders] are only meeting their party workers; some are in the administration and some are in Raj Bhavan. So, it is a family gathering. I am saying that our governor was an RSS worker, a BJP union minister and a BJP chief minister. So, is it an insult to call him a karyakarta?” he said.

He also raised the issue of Raj Bhavan not clearing the names of 12 nominees, who are recommended by the state cabinet, as governor-nominated members of the legislative council (MLC). “Raj Bhavan has become a political adda, and there will be criticism till the time it remains so. We will continue to say so till the Governor clears the 12 nominated MLCs. He is not clearing these names due to pressure from the BJP.”

Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said he doesn’t consider Raut a leader to respond to his statements. “Sanjay Raut has a lot of time on his hands. When you (the media) don’t have any news, you go to him. He is not such a big leader for me to respond to what he says. The Governor is the constitutional head...If we go to him [Koshyari], he becomes a BJP leader. When Raut goes and bows before him out of respect, whose leader does he [Koshyari] become then?” he said.

The Sena-led government is in the eye of the storm following Param Bir Singh’s allegation against Deshmukh. The state government is expected to announce a probe in the matter. Raut said the probe could be headed by a retired high court judge. “The CM wants a probe, the home minister too wants it...A retired high court judge or somebody else [can probe it]. The probe will not be hampered till Uddhav Thackeray is the chief minister,” Raut said.

Meanwhile, he added, that the report of IPS officer Rashmi Shulka, which alleged corruption in police transfers, does not contain anything “serious”. On Tuesday, Fadnavis submitted the report to Union home secretary and sought a probe by the CBI. “The documents are not serious at all. ..The report doesn’t have anything in it, it should be released and everybody should read it carefully. It does not have even a line against the way the government acted,” Raut said.

The Sena leader also added that the government has full knowledge of the “leaks” in the state administration and chief minister is taking steps to plug them. Raut said that they have names of the officers who are “loyal” to the previous government.

“There can be some officers in the administration who are loyal to the previous government, and may have prepared a report...But it is not some ‘bomb’… In the last 1.5 years, some leaks have been found, a serious thought must be given to that. We have information about these officers,” he said.

Summing up the ongoing political drama in Maharashtra, Raut invoked a popular slogan of West Bengal assembly elections and said, “Khela Hobe” or game on. “Currently. Maharashtra and Delhi are doing ‘Khela Hobe’. It is entertaining for the people of Maharashtra, and it is tax-free entertainment,” he said.