Give us ED for two days, even Fadnavis and BJP will vote for Sena, says Sanjay Raut after MVA defeat on sixth RS seat

As Raut ‘names’ Independent MLAs allegedly responsible for Sena’s RS defeat, BJP demands case be filed against him for violating code of conduct

@the_news_21

Mumbai: Accusing Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis triumph in the just held Rajya Sabha election on June 10 to political horse-trading and interference by central investigation agencies, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said that if the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) had the control over the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for just two days, then even Fadnavis and the BJP would have voted for the Sena in the Rajya Sabha polls. 

The BJP led by Fadnavis had rattled the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress led ruling MVA, by achieving a stunning victory on the hotly-contested sixth RS seat in the State, which saw the BJP’s Dhananjay Mahadik beating the Sena’s (MVA’s) candidate Sanjay Pawar by 41 votes to 33. A number of Independent MLAs, who were expected to side with the MVA ultimately cast their vote for the BJP, bitter recriminations ensued after the results on June 11 which were finally declared after a high-voltage, all-night drama. 

A visibly upset Raut ‘named’ about six Independent MLAs as being responsible for the defeat of the Sena candidate Sanjay Pawar. He accused the BJP at the Centre and the State of misusing central agencies to change the outcome of the results. 

The Sena chief spokesperson remarked, “There is no question of our (Sena) insulting any of the Independent MLAs. We have merely expressed our feelings… Even the independents and the BJP are aware of what we are trying to say. If the reins of the ED were given in our (MVA’s) hands for two days, even Devendra Fadnavis will vote for the Shiv Sena.”  

Raut claimed that the MVA was aware of everything that the Maharashtra BJP leaders were doing “in the middle of the night.” The newly-re-elected Sena MP said: “We know how they (Maharashtra BJP) were calling the Union Home Ministry and how the Home Ministry’s phones were going to the Central Election Commission…we know how they (BJP) were planning to make votes of MVA leaders to be ‘invalidated’.”  

Raut heaping scorn on the Independent MLAs has sparked strong resentment among the MLAs, who are expected to tilt the balance in favour of the MVA in the upcoming polls to the Maharashtra Legislative Council on June 20, where the opposition BJP is said to have a clear edge. 

Responding to Raut, the BJP and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) sarcastically remarked how it was possible that despite the Sena’s claims of Uddhav Thackeray being one of the most popular chief ministers in the country, the MVA government’s own MLAs were disgruntled with the Thackeray government.  

Accusing Raut of having violated the election model code of conduct by naming the Independent MLAs who had not voted for the MVA, BJP leader Dr Kirit Somaiya demanded a case be lodged against the Sena leader. 

Somaiya further remarked, “How did Sanjay Raut and the Shiv Sena come to know so soon (after the results) that which MLAs had not voted for the Sena’s candidate. What does he imply? Was there some setting? What was the Sena’s intention in giving threats to Independent MLAs?”

BJP Leader of Opposition in the Council Pravin Darekar, too, demanded a complaint be lodged against Sanjay Raut for ‘insulting’ the Independent MLAs, while newly-elected BJP Rajya Sabha MP Dr Anil Bonde lambasted Raut for ‘insulting’ the Independent MLAs by alleging they could be “bought” for a price. 

Bonde further remarked, “How can one insult the Independent MLAs in this fashion without any proof. Only Sanjay Raut can be so foolish as to take names of MLAs. Defamation cases are likely to be filed in the coming days.”  

Meanwhile, Devendra Bhuyar, one of the Independent MLAs ‘named’ by Sanjay Raut for voting for the BJP met with NCP chief Sharad Pawar and condemned the Sena MP’s remarks. Bhuyar, an Independent MLA from Morshi, was formerly with Raju Shetti’s Swabhimani Paksha, had recently tilted towards the NCP and was expected to vote for the MVA.