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Sanjay Raut’s wife to be quizzed: Shiv Sena to put up show of strength outside ED’s Mumbai office
Shiv Sena has reportedly asked its local leaders from Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Nashik, Pune and Thane to assemble party workers and stage a protest outside the ED office on Jan 5
A fresh round of the slugfest between the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which began after the Enforcement Directorate issued a notice to Sena lawmaker Sanjay Raut’s wife Varsha early this week, is expected to reach a new level as some Sena leaders are planning a show of strength outside the central agency’s Ballad Pier office next week.
The show of strength is being organised on the lines of the one put up by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) during its chief Sharad Pawar’s scheduled appearance before ED officials in September 2019.
Shiv Sena has reportedly asked its local leaders from Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Nashik, Pune and Thane to assemble party workers and stage a protest outside the ED office on Tuesday. A section of workers and leaders in Sena believe that Raut was being targeted as he was instrumental in snapping ties with BJP and forming the Sena-led government in the state.
“There would be no official announcement on this to avoid any legal glitch. [But] the protest is planned to be portrayed as a spontaneous reaction of the workers. Sena works from the adjoining areas have been directed to gather outside ED office on Tuesday morning. It would be similar to the show of strength by NCP when Pawar was summoned,” said a leader close to Raut.
However, another set of leaders in the party, were unaware of any such move, and also questioned if using party workers for “Raut’s personal case” was proper.
The entire episode of ED’s notice to Varsha Raut has again raked up the face-off between allies-turned-rivals Sena and BJP, as the former alleged that the BJP-led Centre is using central agencies to settle political score.
Varsha Raut is expected to visit the ED office on January 5 – the rescheduled date of appearance on her request. The agency summoned her to inquire over the allegations of her links with the transfer of Rs50 lakh from the accounts of Pravin Raut, an accused arrested in connection with the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank fraud case, which is also being probed by ED. Pravin Raut was one of the directors in Guruashish Constructions, which is a subsidiary of Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL). He has been arrested along with the directors of HDIL for illegally availing loans from the bank.
Sanjay Raut said BJP wants to pull down the state government and thus by issuing the notice to his wife, it was trying to put pressure on the Sena, which is the ruling party in the state.
“We have been getting messages from BJP leaders here [in the state] that they have prepared a list of 22 leaders from the three ruling parties to book them in various financial cases. Our MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) Pratap Sarnaik [who, along with his relatives, has also been questioned by ED in another case] is one of them. A few state BJP leaders regularly visit the ED office and obtain important documents related to leaders from the ruling parties in Maharashtra. The BJP is playing a dirty game in political rivalry by involving wives and family members of the leaders who speak out against them,” Raut had claimed during a press conference on December 28. Party workers had indulged in sloganeering during the press conference at Sena Bhavan. A banner with the words ‘Maharashtra BJP regional office’ was also put up outside ED office on the same day.
Meanwhile, hitting back at the Sena, BJP said the state’s ruling party was playing an emotional card and Raut should answer his and his family’s connections with Pravin Raut.
“Instead of attacking us, Sanjay Raut should explain about his and his family’s relations with Pravin Raut and his family. The two families had formed a company called Siddhant Syscon Systems Pvt Limited Co and crores of rupees were transferred to Sanjay Raut’s account. They should first clear the air on these transactions,” said BJP leader Kirit Somaiya.
Another BJP leader, Atul Bhatkhalkar, said, “Instead of indulging in the show of strength, Raut should tell ED and the people of Maharashtra the status of Rs50 lakh which was borrowed as loan from Pravin Raut. They should come clear on the questioned transactions and tell people if the loan was repaid,” he said.
The Sena and the BJP have been at loggerheads on various issues over the past one year, after the Sena joined hands with NCP and Congress to form the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government in the state.
