Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and chief party spokesperson Sanjay Raut lashed out against Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde here on Monday for allegedly utilising the police to force an SS (UBT) election candidate to meet Shinde, who “persuaded” him to “withdraw” his candidature for the municipal corporation election scheduled for January 15.
“If you (Deputy CM Eknath Shinde) have any manliness still left in you, then fight us (Uddhav-led Sena) openly from the front. You stole our party and our party symbol, but we are still fighting resolutely. If Eknath Shinde had any courage or manliness, he would not have done such things, but he has been stabbing people in the back all his life. Now he is so afraid of the original Shiv Sena and the MNS that he even prevents their candidates from contesting the election. All this proves that he is afraid of us.
”The ruling party is under the illusion that the voters of Mumbai and Thane will change their minds by receiving Rs 15,000 or by kidnapping their candidates. People are very angry due to such dirty politics, and this anger will definitely be visible through the ballot box,” Raut said.
Earlier, following reports of 68 BJP-led Mahayuti candidates “winning unopposed” even before voting began, the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Avinash Jadhav publicised a video and claimed that Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena candidate Vikrant Ghag, who was supposed to contest the Thane Municipal Corporation election, was “forcibly” taken to meet Deputy CM Shinde’s residence by a police officer, after which Ghag “withdrew” his candidature.
After publicising the video, Thane-based Uddhav-led Sena leader Rajan Vichare and MNS leader Avinash Jadhav accused the BJP and the Eknath Shinde-led Sena of allegedly using money power and police machinery to influence the Thane Municipal Corporation election. Avinash Jadhav also demanded an inquiry into the video and warned of street protests if the election officers responsible were not “replaced” within two days, while Uddhav-led Sena leader Rajan Vichare alleged that officials and the police helped “reject” nomination forms, in order to facilitate “withdrawal” of candidature.
Reacting to these developments, Uddhav-led Sena MP Sanjay Raut told media persons here that “The video from Thane is very serious. The video shows the police bringing candidates to Eknath Shinde’s house in Thane. Candidates were abducted from their homes, put in a vehicle and brought to Shinde’s house in Thane. The police did this work without even maintaining the dignity of their uniform. Obviously, the police were pressured or threatened to do such work”.
“Even the Election Commission will never take any concrete action on this matter, and it will merely ask for a report and buy time by promising an investigation. Therefore, now the only way left is to go to court against this injustice,” Raut said.
Sanjay Raut also ridiculed the Election Commission’s decision to cover up a statue of Balasaheb Thackeray in Mumbai, as “stupid”.
“Balasaheb Thackeray is a national hero. If you have covered up his statue, then why are the statues of Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Mumbai not covered up as well? Shinde and Fadnavis are afraid of the late Balasaheb Thackeray. But what do you hope to achieve by covering up his statue? Today, all parties use his photographs,” Sanjay Raut said.