Mumbai: Reacting to Sena MP Sanjay Raut's claim that an amount to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore changed hands for the assignment of the 'Shiv Sena' name and symbol to the Eknath Shinde camp, members from the latter group, as well as state BJP leaders, dismissed the allegation on Sunday.
"Is Sanjay Raut a cashier?" asked MLA Sada Sarvankar from the Shinde camp. BJP leader and state minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, meanwhile, asserted that the comment by Raut was an attempt to defame institutions such as the Supreme Court and Election Commission of India.
The citizens will ably teach a lesson to those who disrespect democracy, he said, adding that he hoped for better sense to prevail in the state. Mumbai BJP unit chief Ashish Shelar, meanwhile, suspected that Raut had "either lost his senses or gone mad".
"I have got reliable information... I am confident... This is only the primary figure and it is 100 per cent correct," said Raut in a series of tweets earlier in the day. "This is unprecedented in the country's history... Some more revelations will be made soon," promised Raut, in an allegation that is viewed as pointing fingers at the Election Commission of India (ECI).
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The Sena (UBT) Chief Spokesperson's sensational contentions came two days after the ECI allotted the 'Shiv Sena' name and 'Bow-and-Arrow' symbol to the breakaway faction Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena, headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Raut's stunning utterances happened a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday moved the Bombay High Court on Saturday seeking to cancel the 'perverse' bail granted to the MP, and others. He was arrested on August 1 in an alleged corruption and money-laundering case pertaining to the Patrawala Chawl deal and was released on November 9.
After losing the iconic name-symbol, there has been much breast-beating in the Sena (UBT) led by ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray and the party plans to challenge the ECI decision in the Supreme Court on Monday. For effect, Raut also shared a photo of the legendary Tukaram B. Sathe, famed as 'Lokshahir' Annabhau Sathe's Marathi lines: "This justice system has become a mistress of some, this parliament has become a mansion of eunuchs... To whom will I express my pain... Because the justice system has become tainted by corruption".
Besides the Sena (UBT), its Maha Vikas Aghadi allies Congress and Nationalist Congress Party and other parties have also attacked the ECI's verdict, terming it as unexpected, hasty and unjust, though it was hailed by the ruling alliance of BSS-Bharatiya Janata Party, as a "triumph of truth". (with Agency inputs)
