Shinde Government On 'Ventilator', Will Fall By Feb: Sanjay Raut Ahead Of SC Hearing On Jan 10
Sanjay Raut said that Maharashtra's Eknath Shinde government is on ventilator support and will topple by February. His statement comes before the Supreme Court's scheduled hearing on January 10.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said that the Maharashtra government of Eknath Shinde is on life support and would fall by February, news agency PTI reported. He also said that if the "judiciary is not pressed," 16 MLAs (of the Shinde group, popularly known as the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena) will be disqualified.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing the matter involving the split of the Sena into the Uddhav Thackeray and Shinde factions in June of last year and requests for disqualification under anti-defection legislation.
The Supreme Court will hear a batch of petitions on January 10, including one seeking the disqualification of 16 MLAs from the Shinde camp.
"This illegal government is on ventilator support and it will not see February. If the judiciary is not pressured, then 16 MLAs (of the Shinde faction) will be disqualified soon,” Raut was quoted as saying by PTI.
Raut accused the state government, which comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party, of corruption and said the Opposition had requested the resignation of several ministers, including the Chief Minister and Abdul Sattar, during the recent winter session of the Assembly.
"But the state government is keeping mum. It does not exist at all. It is as inactive as a buffalo in water. There are two groups in the state government and everyone is engaged with their own issues," the Rajya Sabha MP alleged, reported PTI.
When asked about Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chairman Raj Thackeray's plans to organise a rally at Sena Bhavan in Dadar (the Shiv Sena's headquarters), Raut replied there was no prohibition on anyone holding a gathering in front of the iconic monument.
He claimed that the Shiv Sena stages rallies near the MNS chief's home in Shivaji Park (an obvious reference to the party's annual Dussehra rallies).
Raut claimed the MNS would be granted permission by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation due to a supportive state government and the rally itself being sponsored by the BJP.
"But we do not get permission. We have to struggle to get permission because the government is frightened of us," Raut continued, according to the PTI report.
After the BMC delayed its feet on the party's application, the Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray faction had to go to the Bombay High Court to gain permission for its Dussehra gathering at Shivaji Park last year.
In response to Union Minister Narayan Rane's recent allegation that he will meet Thackeray to expose the former's "secret talk" with Raut, the Rajya Sabha MP said, "I talked Uddhavji just now, and he was laughing at Rane's statement," PTI reported.
He further accused Rane and his sons (MLA Nitesh Rane and former Lok Sabha MP Nilesh Rane) of using derogatory language to harm the Thackeray family, including levelling bogus claims against Aaditya Thackeray in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death.
(With Inputs From PTI)
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