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Is Sanjay Raut causing more harm than good to Uddhav Thackeray?

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2 years ago

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Mumbai: If there is near a consensus within Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, it is that party MP Sanjay Raut, 61, has caused huge damage to the organisation by his highly controversial statements.

Recently, Raut claimed, without providing any evidence, that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s son and MP Shrikant Shinde had hired a goon of Thane to eliminate him. In the past, he had made even more outlandish statements that caused incalculable damage to the party.

Raut’s controversial statements

After the COVID pandemic, Raut alleged that most of the doctors and nurses had abandoned their responsibility and fled from the hospitals. This evoked howls of protests from the medical fraternity, after which Uddhav was forced to undertake damage control.

In January 2020, Raut, who is the executive editor of the party mouthpiece Saamana, claimed that Indira Gandhi used to regularly call on the late drug lord Karim Lala at Pydhonie in central Mumbai. It is a different matter that Karim Lala operated out of Dongri and not Pydhonie. The Congress was understandably furious over this bizarre claim and slammed Raut. The MP, most recently, alleged that Rs2,000 crore had changed hands to get Shinde’s faction recognised as the Shiv Sena along with the bow and arrow symbol. Raut promised to produce evidence and as usual failed to proffer any.

Many supporters of Uddhav Thackeray say that their leader is paying a heavy political price by not taking action against Raut despite the huge damage he continues to inflict. The only thing Uddhav has done is not promote Raut as the editor of Saamana. Instead, he has appointed his wife Rashmi Thackeray as the editor, while Raut continues to be the executive editor.

Sources: Raut is useful to Uddhav as a conduit between him & NCP chief

According to sources close to Uddhav, Raut is useful to him as a conduit between him and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Though there is a perception that Raut is being used by Pawar to influence Uddhav, Raut’s proximity to Pawar can be gauged from the fact that when the MP was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the infamous Patrawala chawl multi-crore scam, the Maratha honcho personally called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought his intervention in taking Raut out of the hook. Incidentally, Pawar did no such thing for his own partyman Nawab Malik who, too, was arrested by the ED.

It is not that Uddhav has always obliged Raut. For example, when Raut insisted that his brother and MLA from Bhandup, Sunil Raut, should be made a minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, which was helmed by Uddhav, the latter put his foot down and refused a ministerial berth for Sunil.

Raut’s career

Sanjay Raut started his career in Saamana as a journalist. When Bal Thackeray decided to publish a Hindi tabloid ‘Dopahar Ka Saamana’, Raut recommended Sanjay Nirupam as the editor. Thackeray Senior was so impressed with Nirupam’s aggressive propagation of the Hindutva line that he made him a member of the Rajya Sabha much to the chagrin of Raut.

Raut won over the confidence of Balasaheb by carrying a series called ‘Marathon Mulaquats’ or Marathon Interviews of the Sena founder. These interviews revealed Balasaheb’s thoughts on a host of issues and they were picked up by other newspapers and TV channels.

Balasaheb then decided to reward Raut by sending him to the Rajya Sabha. It is learnt that Raut does not share the same chemistry with Aaditya Thackeray as with Uddhav. “Given the widespread nature of resentment against Sanjay Raut within our party, I won’t be in the least surprised if he is politically downsized in the near future,” a top Sena source observed.

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Maharashtra

Maharashtra Govt Forms SIT To Investigate Alleged Conspiracy Against CM Devendra Fadnavis & Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde

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2 hours ago

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February 1, 2025

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Mumbai: In a sudden development on Friday, the Mahayuti government decided to appoint a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged conspiracy to frame Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Ekanth Shinde, who were the opposition leader and Urban Development Minister when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was in power.

About The Alleged Conspiracy

The alleged conspiracy involved registering false criminal cases against the duo. The SIT will be headed by Satyanarayan Chaudhary, who oversees the law-and-order wing of the Mumbai Police, according to a Government Resolution (GR) issued by the State Home Department. The decision to constitute the SIT follows information shared by BJP MLC Pravin Darekar in the state legislative council during the winter session in December 2024, according to the GR.

According to Darekar, a conspiracy was hatched to register false cases against Fadnavis and Shinde. He stated that he had evidence in the form of an audio clip. It is also significant that the home department was under the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) when the MVA was in power. The department was headed by Anil Deshmukh until early July, followed by Dilip Walse Patil. While Deshmukh is with the Sharad Pawar-led faction of the NCP, Walse Patil joined the Ajit Pawar-led group that rebelled in July 2023.

The SIT includes Rajiv Jain, DIG of the State Reserve Police Force; Navnath Dhavle, DCP, Mumbai Police; Adikrao Pol, ACP, Mumbai; and Satyanarayan Chaudhary. The SIT has been instructed to complete its probe within 30 days.

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Crime

Mumbai: Speeding Dumper Hits 2 Bikers Near Birla Centurion Mill, One Killed

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2 hours ago

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February 1, 2025

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Mumbai: A tragic accident occurred in Worli, where a speeding dumper rammed into two bikers, killing one on the spot. The deceased has been identified as Rohan Gupta (21), while the other rider, Sanket Virendrakumar Sharma (21), sustained serious injuries. Based on Sharma’s complaint, the N.M. Joshi Marg Police have registered a case against the dumper driver, Darshan Subhash Kasdekar (27) and arrested him. Further investigation is underway.

According to the N.M. Joshi Marg Police, the accident took place around 9:30 PM on January 30 near Birla Centurion Mill Gate No. 01 to 07. Complainant Sanket Sharma and his friend Rohan Gupta were riding a bike on Pandurang Budhkar Marg when a speeding and negligent dumper driver hit them near Birla Centurion Mill. The impact threw both riders off their bike, causing severe injuries. Gupta succumbed to his injuries on the spot, while Sharma survived with serious wounds. The police have registered a case and are continuing their investigation.

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Maharashtra

‘Plastic Flowers Not Banned Due To Low Littering Potential’: Union Government Says To Bombay High Court

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21 hours ago

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January 31, 2025

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Mumbai: The Union government has informed the Bombay High Court that plastic flowers are not included in the list of banned single-use plastic items as they do not meet the criteria of “high littering potential and low utility”. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), in an affidavit, stated that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had forwarded the matter for consideration but without any supporting analysis.

The affidavit was filed in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) by the Growers Flowers Council of India (GFCI), which sought a ban on plastic flowers in Maharashtra. The PIL argued that plastic flowers, particularly those less than 100 microns thick, contribute to environmental pollution and should be included in the list of prohibited singleuse plastic items.

The High Court had earlier issued notices to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), CPCB, and MoEFCC, seeking their response on the demand for a ban. In October 2024, the court had asked the Centre whether it had considered CPCB’s recommendations for banning plastic flowers.

The MoEFCC, in its affidavit, clarified that an expert committee constituted by the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DCPC) had identified 40 single-use plastic items for detailed analysis. However, plastic flowers were not among them.

Refuting the petitioner’s claims, the affidavit stated that the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, do not specify a minimum thickness requirement of 100 microns for plastic flowers.

The government argued, “The petitioner states that… violation of this thickness requirement has resulted in difficulties in decomposing. This is wrong and misleading. There is no such provision in Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016,” the MoEFCC affidavit emphasises.

The plea also highlighted that the Maharashtra government had issued a notification on March 8, 2022, banning several single-use plastic items.

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