Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut lands in more trouble as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted a raid on his residence in relation to the money laundering cases with his alleged involvement. Raut, further, issued a statement that he “won’t surrender” in front of the agency.
The central agency had summoned the Shiv Sena MP multiple times for questioning, but Raut failed to show up at least twice, after which the ED decided to conduct raids on his property. Meanwhile, Raut denied any involvement with the financial scam.
Sanjay Raut reportedly missed the ED summons twice – on July 20 and July 27 – after which ED investigators reached his residence on July 31. The ED had issued a summons to Raut to question him on the redevelopment of a chawl in Mumbai.
Tweeting in Marathi on Sunday, Sanjay Raut wrote, “I have nothing to do with any scam. I am saying this by taking the oath of Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray. Balasaheb taught us to fight. I will continue to fight for Shiv Sena.”
The Rajya Sabha MP further added, “False action. False evidence. I will not leave Shiv Sena. Even if I die, I will not surrender. Jai Maharashtra.” He further denied any relation with the chawl scam and blamed it on political vendetta.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Ram Kadam slammed the Shiv Sena leader and raised a question on why he didn’t show up in front of the ED officials. Kadam said, “Why is he scared of Enforcement Directorate if he is innocent? He has all the time to give press conference but no time to visit probe agency office for questioning.”
These developments come after the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction’s fate hangs in balance as Eknath Shinde, along with BJP, toppled its government after staging a rebellion within the party, breaking the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance.
Till now, no details on the items retrieved from Sanjay Raut’s house during the ED raid have been disclosed yet.
READ | Rashtrapatni remark row: Shashi Tharoor defends Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, says ‘his Hindi is like mine’
