Eknath Shinde’s swipe on raids on Sanjay Raut, update on cabinet expansion

Amid delay in the cabinet expansion, the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government has been slammed by rivals.

Published on: Jul 31, 2022, 15:41:45 IST

By HT News Desk | Edited by Swati Bhasin

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Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday took a swipe at his former party colleague - Sanjay Raut - hours after Raut’s home was raided amid investigation in a money laundering case, Raut, who has been a vehement critic of the BJP, said he won’t leave Team Uddhav Thackeray, underlining that the action was taken against him using “false evidence”.

File photo: Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde at Maharashtra Sadan, in New Delhi. (ANI Photo) (Ishant Chauhan)

Hours later, briefing the reporters, Eknath Shinde said that Raut “should not be afraid if he has not done anything wrong”. Stressing that the central probe agency was doing its work, Shinde further dismissed claims that Raut was asked to join his camp. “Just because one's scared of the ED, one shouldn't come to our party,” Shinde was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Shinde’s rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray had led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra. The NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena combine could not survive the revolt of the Sena MLAs who had sided with Shinde.

Amid the investigation, Raut got fresh summons from the ED over alleged fraud in a project redevelopment. Earlier too, he had said that he had got an invite to join the rebel MLAs but he had refused.

On Sunday, as probe agency officials reached his home, he tweeted: “I swear by late Balasabheb Thackeray that I have nothing to do with any scam…Balasaheb taught us to fight..I will continue to fight for Shiv Sena.”

“I will not leave Shiv Sena..Even if I die, I will not surrender,” the Rajya Sabha MP further said.

Meanwhile, Shinde on Sunday also said that his cabinet would be expanded soon, ANI reported.

The Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government is yet to reveal the details on portfolios ever since it was formed about three weeks ago.

Rivals have not missed an opportunity to attack the duo. On Saturday, Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted memes to take a swipe at the government.

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HT News Desk
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