Mumbai, July 1: Launching a scathing attack on party legislator and deputy leader Sachin Ahir for his switch, Shiv Sen (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday said that Ahir left them in the dark, dropping a stone on their heads while they were asleep.

“Even if you call this your political journey, history will remember it as a tainted one. If you choose to leave even after being given everything, it means political greed is destroying you. Try poaching workers who desire absolutely nothing. A kind of decay and degradation is underway in the state,” Raut said.

He further observed that loyal party workers who stand by the organisation through thick and thin have become a rarity.

The remarks by Raut came a day after Ahir jumped the ship to join the Shinde camp and filed his nomination for the post of Maharashtra Legislative Council Deputy Chairperson.

Recalling Ahir’s political trajectory, Raut told reporters that Ahir’s career had hit a roadblock after his defeat by Sunil Shinde. However, Aaditya Thackeray revived his political future by making him an MLC, appointing him as a deputy leader, making him the working president of the Bhartiya Kamgar Sena, and handing over the entire responsibility of Pune district to him.

“Sachin Ahir was an extremely close associate of Aaditya Thackeray. He cannot claim that no one was meeting him or listening to him, because Aaditya Thackeray and Uddhav Saheb met him daily,” Raut asserted.

When asked if Sachin Ahir’s defection would increase difficulties for Aaditya Thackeray in the Worli Assembly constituency, Raut remarked that contentment is crucial for any human being.

Raut made a candid statement raising questions about the party’s current predicament and admitted, “For our political future, all of us need to engage in introspection.”

Ahir had sent a message to his colleagues stating, “Leaving the party is my compulsion. I am doing this for my future journey and prospects.”

Reacting to this, Raut questioned, “If this is the case, then for whom should the common grassroots worker toil?”

Raut further noted that Ahir had previously abandoned NCP chief Sharad Pawar in a similar manner for his career.

“Pawar Saheb lifted him from the dust to the skies, made him the MHADA chief, a minister for several years, and the Mumbai NCP President. Yet, he suddenly left Sharad Pawar and his family blindsided to join the Shiv Sena. If he couldn’t remain loyal to Sharad Pawar, how could he be loyal to us? These are not original Shiv Sainiks. A party is always built by its core, original Shiv Sainiks. The rest are just fair-weather passengers who come and go. What Sunil Shinde said is correct — we all need to introspect now,” he stated.

Showing Ahir a mirror, Raut described his political journey as “blemished.”

“Sachin Ahir caught Sharad Pawar off guard when he joined the Shiv Sena back then. Making Ahir a minister in those days was a massive gamble. The Thackeray family and the Shiv Sena showered him with love. Yet, keeping them in the dark, he left like someone dropping a stone on your head while you sleep,” Raut lambasted the leader.

“Sachin Ahir values no loyalty. Where has he gone now, and what more will they give him? Perhaps a candidature from somewhere. But his political road map is riddled with potholes. It feels bad that he left, but he shouldn’t have done this after receiving respect, status, and positions,” commented Raut.

Taking a swipe at Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Raut added, “When someone defects despite being given everything, Eknath Shinde breaks into a wicked laugh, resembling Ravana.”

Referring to the wider rift, Raut concluded by pointing out that out of the six MPs who split from the party, five were originally from the Congress.

Mumbai, July 1: Singer Reetu Sharma, who had performed at a function of Ketan Agarwal’s family on May 7, said that she is “constantly reminded” of his warm nature and words from that day as she demanded strict punishment for the accused.

An old video of Ketan Agarwal dancing with his and his fiancee – and murder accused — Siya Goyal’s parents at a family function in Pune was posted on Instagram by the singer on Tuesday night.

Among the two videos posted on social media, the first shows Ketan’s father, Vishal Agarwal, and Siya’s parents – Pravin Goyal and Pooja Goyal – standing close to each other along with other relatives, while Vishal Agarwal is seen grooving with singer Sharma.

Seconds later, Ketan is seen dancing with Siya’s father, Pravin, to a popular Bollywood song.

Speaking to media, Sharma noted that she was contacted by the Agarwal family through an event management company and has already performed in three to four functions of the family.

The singer further said that she got to know about the alleged murder of Ketan from the social media status of a member of the Agarwal family.

“This function was held on May 7 in Nashik. The occasion was the wedding ritual of Ketan’s cousin (paternal aunt’s daughter) which the Goyal family also attended,” she said.

Denying any sense of enmity between the families, she said: “Both families were happy and very much involved. In fact, both Ketan and Siya’s parents were dancing together and, as seen in the videos, Ketan’s father was even singing with me.”

Noting that the incident deeply impacted her, Sharma said: “I was constantly recalling Ketan’s face and his words from the function on that day. I cannot forget the style in which he told me ‘Maa’m, you are superb; amazing, and please take your lunch’, after the function. Because after such functions we are usually tired, but the way he kept on persuading me till I had my lunch keeps coming back to me.”

Meanwhile, sharing the video, the singer wrote: “On 7th May, we did a program in their family. Where you all can see they are all happily enjoying the program. How happy both the families were. We saw Ketan from our own eyes. Such an innocent child. Who knew this will happen to this beautiful soul (sic).”

Sharma called for strict punishment for Siya, saying: “Just because she did not like him doesn’t mean she can take someone’s life. She did think about her parents that if she ran with her boyfriend, society would blame her and her parents. But what about Ketan’s parents? She did not think what they will go through??”

“Why saying NO is more difficult than taking someone’s life? We want justice for Ketan! She should be pushed from that fort where she pushed Ketan and killed him,” she added.

Mumbai, July 1: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday questioned the renewed political debate over the number of soldiers martyred during ‘Operation Sindoor’, while recalling that both the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force had recognised the loss earlier and had paid tributes to the six personnel who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.

The controversy over Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement over “no soldiers” deaths in the Parliament, days after ‘Operation Sindoor’, started after six martyred jawans were immortalised by inscribing their names on the National War Memorial in the national Capital on Monday.

In a post on X, Chaturvedi said, “Am I the only one who recalls that during Op Sindoor, the then-DGMO, LG Rajeev Ghai, at an official Press briefing, had paid tribute to the 5 personnel who made the supreme sacrifice during the Operation. Also recall Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh, having personally visited Sergeant Kumar’s family to pay his respects. And now, the National War Memorial has their names etched in stone as a tribute for their ultimate sacrifice. Where’s the confusion?”

Chaturvedi referred to the instance when General Rajiv Ghai, then a Lieutenant General serving as the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO), had paid solemn tribute to the fallen heroes during an official Press conference on May 11, 2025.

Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and his wife, Sarita Singh, had also personally visited the family of the late Sergeant Surendra Kumar, who laid down his life during ‘Operation Sindoor’, to pay their respects.

Chaturvedi’s remarks came as Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s ally in the INDIA Bloc, trained guns at the Centre and the Defence Minister, as it claimed that the latter tried to gloss over the supreme sacrifice of soldiers during ‘Operation Sindoor’, thus not giving them the respect and honour that the martyrs deserved.

Congress accused the Centre of deliberately misleading Parliament and demanded Rajnath Singh’s resignation.

The Ministry of Defence firmly rejected these allegations as factually incorrect and warned against politicising sensitive military matters.

The Ministry clarified that this statement was taken out of context. The Ministry explained that he was specifically countering a false, viral rumour spreading online that Indian Air Force pilots had been shot down, rather than denying ground casualties.

The six brave soldiers martyred in ‘Operation Sindoor’ include Subedar Major Pawan Kumar, Rifleman Sunil Kumar, Lance Naik Dinesh Kumar, Agniveer Murali Naik, Havildar Sunil Kumar Singh, and Indian Air Force Sergeant Surendra Kumar.

Five of these personnel belonged to the Indian Army, while one belonged to the Indian Air Force.

Their names are being inscribed at the National War Memorial to ensure that their supreme sacrifice remains alive in the nation’s memory forever.