Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has alleged that the central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi planned to arrest Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during his tenure as a minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
‘The Modi government had planned to arrest Eknath Shinde. The chief minister should be asked whether this is true or not,’ said Raut.
When asked about the case in which Shinde was purportedly meant to be arrested, Raut alleged, ‘He had committed several irregularities… He was involved in money laundering.’
According to Raut, Shinde was told that action would be initiated against him if he did not part ways with the MVA along with several MLAs. ‘They asked him to split the Sena or face arrest.’
Raut also spoke about the chief minister’s claim that Devendra Fadnavis and other BJP leaders like Girish Mahajan, Ashish Shelar, Pravin Darekar and Prasad Lad were facing arrest during MVA tenure.
‘Devendra Fadnavis had committed the serious crime of tapping the phones of Opposition leaders… It is a serious crime under the Indian Telegraph Act. Similarly, other BJP leaders were facing serious criminal cases,’ he said.
Asked whether the MVA erred in not arresting them, Raut said, ‘I can’t comment about it now.’
