‘Sanjay Raut targeted because…’: Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Shiv Sena MP's arrest

On Sunday, Raut was arrested by the ED for his alleged role in Mumbai's Patra Chawl land scam case.

Published on: Aug 1, 2022, 11:13:13 IST

By HT News Desk, New Delhi

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A day after Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut was raided – and later arrested – by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge – the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha – on Monday said that the Maharashtra leader was targeted as the ruling BJP wants a Parliament without opposition parties.

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge speaks in the Rajya Sabha during an earlier sitting of Parliament's ongoing Monsoon Session. (PTI)

Also Read: Shiv Sena plans massive protests today after Sanjay Raut's arrest by ED

“The BJP wants an opposition-mukt Parliament, that's why the action against Sanjay Raut. We'll raise issues of inflation, Gujarat hooch tragedy in Parliament. 'Op Keechad' by the BJP in Jharkhand will also be raised today,” Kharge told news agency ANI.

Raut, a senior leader of the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena – Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde heads the ‘rebel' group – was arrested late last night by the central agency, which, earlier in the day, conducted searches at his residence in Mumbai's Bhandup, in connection with the Patra Chawl land scam case.

Also Read: Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut hugs mother before being taken to ED office. Watch

The 60-year-old politician has repeatedly claimed innocence, and alleged he was being framed on the basis of ‘false evidence’.

The Centre's alleged misuse of agencies against opposition leaders is one of the issues that has been raised by non-BJP and non-NDA parties in the ongoing monsoon of Parliament. The ‘misuse’ includes interrogation of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, also by the ED, in connection with the National Herald case.

Also Read: How Sanjay Raut’s crucial role in Shiv Sena brought him on the radar

The Congress and the Shiv Sena, together with the NCP, are constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The alliance's government in Maharashtra collapsed in June after Shinde revolted against Thackeray.

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