Amid a fierce battle between two Shiv Sena factions in Maharashtra, Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday made shocking claims about the highly contested ‘bow and arrow’ party symbol.
Raut claimed that a “deal worth Rs 2000 crore” took place to allegedly purchase the Shiv Sena party name and its ‘bow and arrow’ symbol. The Rajya Sabha member also said his claim was backed by proof which he would disclose soon.
“I have reliable information that there has been a deal of Rs 2000 crore to get the Shiv Sena name and its symbol. This is a preliminary figure and is 100 per cent true. Many things will be revealed shortly. Never before this has happened in the country’s history,” Raut tweeted.
Raut said Rs 2,000 crore is not a small amount to “purchase” the name Shiv Sena. “The EC’s decision is a deal,” he alleged.
Raut claimed that the Rs 2,000 crore transaction was just a preliminary figure, but was 100% factual. He also told reporters that a builder close to the ruling side shared this information with him.
BJP, Shinde camp dismiss allegations
Legislator Sada Sarvankar from the camp led by Shinde dismissed the claim and asked, “Is Sanjay Raut a cashier?”
Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar also hit back at Raut saying such baseless comments were an attempt to malign independent institutions like the Supreme Court and the Election Commission of India.
People will teach a lesson to those who make such comments that disrespect democracy, he said. “Hope better sense prevails,” he added.
Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar claimed people making such comments have “either lost senses or gone mad”.
Uddhav Thackeray vs Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah attacked former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday saying those who chose to “lick the soles” of people with opposite ideologies have found which side truth was on.
Without naming Uddhav Thackeray, Shah also reiterated there was no agreement on sharing the chief minister’s post in the run up to the 2019 Assembly polls.
Raut responded to Shah’s remarks and said, “What is the present chief minister licking? Maharashtra doesn’t give importance to what Shah says. The current chief minister has no right to take Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s name.”
Battle for ‘Real Sena’
The Election Commission on Friday recognised the Eknath Shinde-led faction as the real Shiv Sena and ordered allocation of the ‘bow and arrow’ poll symbol to it.
In a 78-page order on the protracted battle for control of the organisation, the EC allowed the Uddhav Thackeray faction to keep the “flaming torch” poll symbol allocated to it till the completion of the Assembly bypolls in the state.
The Shiv Sena broke its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party after the results of the 2019 Assembly polls were declared, claiming the latter had reneged on a promise to share the CM’s post with it.
Uddhav Thackeray subsequently teamed up with the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress to lead the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), till it fell in June last year after Shinde rebelled.
(With PTI Inputs)
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