'Was in solitary confinement, like Savarkar; Will meet Fadnavis, Modi, Shah soon'

A day after his release from jail in a money laundering case, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday was effusive with praises for Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who is credited to have orchestrated the Eknath Shinde rebellion leading to the ouster of Uddhav Thackeray as CM.

Mumbai: A day after his release from jail in a money laundering case, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut credited Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for taking "some good decisions". Raut said he will be soon meeting Fadnavis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the coming days, much to the surprise of the journalists present during the interaction.

Raut did not elaborate on the proposed meeting schedule. It can be seen as his stand softening towards the saffron party which was an erstwhile ally of the Shiv Sena before his party entered into Congress-NCP alliance and formed the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

As regards to his incarceration, Raut drew a parallel to the Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar's solitary confinement. "I was in solitary confinement, just like Savarkar and Tilak. Even my arrest was political and I used my time for a good purpose. Whatever my party, my family and I had to endure.... We have suffered. My family lost a lot," Raut said.

But the country has never seen this kind of politics. Our country was under foreign rule for 150 years, but we did not see this kind of political vendetta in the country. Even the enemies were treated nicely, he said. Raut claimed the state was being run by Fadnavis. Political pundits believe Fadnavis scripted the Shinde-rebellion which led to a vertical split in Shiv Sena and the fall of Thackeray government.

"The new (Eknath Shinde-Fadnavis) government had taken some good decisions, especially housing for the poor, giving more rights to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), which the MVA government had withdrawn," Raut said. He added that he was not for the said withdrawal.

"There is a new government in Maharashtra and it has taken a few good decisions. I welcome that. We will not oppose for the sake of opposition. Whatever is good for the country should be welcomed, he said. Raut said he wants to raise the issue about management of jails with Fadnavis as he is the state home minister.

The MP also said he will neither blame any central agency nor the Union government for his arrest. I will neither comment on the ED nor the people who were involved in this conspiracy. If they must have found happiness in it, then I join them in their happiness. But I have no complaint against anyone, he added.

The ED had arrested Raut in a money laundering case related to the Patra Chawl redevelopment project. A special court in Mumbai granted bail to Rajya Sabha member Raut on Wednesday, saying his arrest was illegal and a "witch-hunt. Raut, who was released from Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail on Wednesday after 100 days.