Sanjay Raut alleges Shinde govt pressurising him to abandon Uddhav Thackeray

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Monday alleged that the Nashik police have registered a suo moto case against him under pressure from Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and state home minister Devendra Fadnavis. 

The Sena leader also said that Fadnavis has failed to maintain law and order in the state; he is instead busy politicking.

Raut at his press conference on Monday openly said that the Shinde–Fadnavis duo want him to quit the Shiv Sena and abandon Uddhav Thackeray. They are, therefore, running a vicious campaign to harass him so that he quits the party and deserts Thackeray.

He also stressed that while many prominent leaders in India have raised the point that the Shinde government is illegal, the government has pounced only on him.

Raut has been booked by Maharashtra police for his alleged appeal to the state officials and the police to not follow orders from the "illegal" BJP-led government in the state.

A case has been registered under u/s 505(1)(b) of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly creating discord between the police and the public.

On May 12, a day after the Supreme Court verdict on the political imbroglio in Maharashtra, Raut—a Rajya Sabha member and spokesperson for the Shiv Sena (UBT)—had made the remarks while on a tour of Nashik.

Raut said in the press meet on Monday that he hasn't said anything unConstitutional or objectionable. "After the SC verdict, it's crystal clear that a question has been raised on the eligibility and legal standing of the 16 MLAs," said Raut. "The verdict also highlighted the support of the former governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to the MLAs led by Shinde. The court has also asked the state assembly speaker to decide upon the eligibility of the 16 MLAs. Therefore, it's very much clear that the present government in the state is still in crisis."

Raut added that he won't surrender his loyalty to Uddhav or sell it to the BJP. 

"Home minister Fadnavis is pressuring Maharashtra police and has failed to control the riots in Ahmednagar," he also said. Last month, violent clashes had taken place in Ahmednagar in Western Maharashtra over a WhatsApp post. Last week, there were similar clashes over a social media post in Akola, in the Vidarbha region of the state.

Raut also added that Fadnavis will today visit the Assembly and give a written complaint to the speaker about the disqualification of the 16 MLAs belonging to the Eknath Shinde faction.