Mumbai Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday accused the central investigative agencies of taking betel leaves from the Center to harass political opponents, calling them dacoits. An angry Thackeray said that the central agencies behave like ‘pets’ of the Centre. They target political opponents by taking betel nut from the central government. These should be closed. He was speaking while welcoming party MP Sanjay Raut, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged money laundering case. He had reached Thackeray’s private residence ‘Matoshree’ from jail for 101 days.
Referring to the special PMLA court’s decision, which held Raut’s arrest by the ED illegal, Thackeray said the central government may still try to implicate him (Raut) in other false cases. . Thackeray said the court’s decision is a warning to the Center and all those (rebels) who left. The wheel of time keeps changing, (Deputy Chief Minister) Devendra Fadnavis should realize that times change, tomorrow it can happen to him too. The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief accused the Center of doing politics of vendetta and called upon the public to raise their voice against it. Raut would never have been arrested, Thackeray said.
The whole country is watching the conduct of the government and the misuse of central investigative bodies. Earlier, Uddhav gave Raut a warm welcome. His wife Rashmi greeted him with aarti and applied tilak, while a smiling Aditya Thackeray hugged Raut. Several other party leaders distributed sweets. Thackeray described Raut as a genuinely true friend who can be relied upon till the end, who can never stab him in the back. He said that despite all the pressure and harassment, Raut did not get scared or ran away and stood firmly with the party. Later, Raut, who also met Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar, said that after a few days of rest, he would visit Maharashtra, meet party workers and the general public to hear their grievances.
Party’s deputy leader Sushma Andhare said, the tiger is back, national spokesperson Kishor Tiwari said the BJP is now scared, and the BJP will be wiped out by the UPA in 2024, Congress’ brother Jagtap criticizing the central agencies. NCP MLA Rohit Pawar (grandson of Sharad Pawar) said, the tiger is back. On Thursday morning, Raut expressed his inability to attend the Bharat Jodo Yatra of the Congress passing through the state due to health reasons. According to a party leader, a high-level delegation of Shiv Sena (UBT), comprising Aaditya Thackeray and other senior leaders, will march with Rahul Gandhi on Friday.
