‘Dirty politics’ on to destabilise Maharashtra government: Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday claimed “dirty politics” was being played out to destabilise the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra and asserted that such attempts will not succeed. Raut’s remarks came a day after suspended cop Sachin Waze in a letter claimed former state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had demanded Rs 2 crore from him to continue his service in the Mumbai police and another minister Anil Parab asked him to collect money from contractors. Waze was arrested last month by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the case of an explosives-laden SUV found near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence in south Mumbai and the death of businessman Mansukh Hiran.

Parab, a Shiv Sena leader, rejected Waze’s claims on Wednesday and said he was ready to face any probe into the allegations. He swore in the name of Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray and asserted that he has not done anything wrong. Talking to reporters here on Thursday, Raut said there is a new trend of getting letters written from the accused locked up in jail. “Never before has the country seen dirty politics being played out in such a manner, like indulging in character assassination using investigation agencies and IT cells of political parties, and letters from accused locked up in jail,” the Rajya Sabha member said.

Raut said attempts to weaken and destabilise the MVA government “will not be successful”. “I know Anil Parab. He is a staunch Shiv Sainik and will never swear wrongly in the name of Balasaheb Thackeray,” Raut said. The Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress share power in Maharashtra.