ED arrested him because he stopped BJP in 2019: Sanjay Raut
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Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate arrested him, charging him with a money laundering case, because he stopped the BJP from coming to power in Maharashtra in 2019, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said. He added in his book, 'Narkartala Swarg' (Heaven in Hell), that he was the "protective wall" of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, which came to power that year, PTI reported.
The book is about Raut's experiences in prison after ED arrested him in an alleged money laundering case in 2022, soon after the collapse of the Thackeray government. Raut later got bail.
"The primary reason behind (the ED) action against me was I stopped the BJP from coming to power. I also stood as a protective wall in defence of the Thackeray government. After that, the Thackeray government collapsed,” he wrote.
"The (Eknath) Shinde government was formed through unconstitutional means. Both Shinde and (then Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis) must have agreed on one thing that if the government has to function, Raut must be behind bars," he stated.
Raut said the BJP was hurt that it had to sit in the opposition despite bagging 105 seats (in the 288-member assembly in the 2019 polls).
"With Sena joining hands with Sharad Pawar-led NCP, the BJP had to sit in the opposition. The BJP considered Raut the reason why it could not form the government in Maharashtra in 2019. The BJP always had this regret," he wrote.
The BJP and the Shiv Sena had contested the 2019 assembly polls together. But the Sena parted ways with the BJP over the post of chief minister.
