Admit that you revolted to be safe from probe agencies: Raut to Sena rebels

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the rebel lawmakers should honestly admit that they revolted against the party leadership to protect themselves from the central probe agencies.

In his weekly column ‘Rokhthok’ published in party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, he said, “The rebel group should stop saying that they switched sides because Shiv Sena gave up Hindutva. Why malign Hindutva unnecessarily? Show honesty in saying that all ran away to protect themselves for Enforcement Directorate (ED).”

Raut claimed Shiv Sena leader Arjun Khotkar honestly admitted that he was under pressure and that was the reason he was joining the rebel camp.

The ED arrested Raees Khan, an aide of rebel Sena MP Bhavana Gawali. But once Gawali revolted against the Sena, Khan was released and her seized property was also released, he said.

Raut said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya had gone to Gawali’s constituency and protested against her.

The Sena leader demanded that the BJP publish details of the allegations it made against political leaders and what happened to the probe once they joined the BJP.

Investigation by the Income Tax department and the ED is going on against several rebel Sena MLAs and Somaiya had made preparations to send them to jail. Now all cases are in cold box. This is real corruption, Raut said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor