After the sudden twist in Maharashtra politics that saw Devendra Fadnavis swearing-in as the CM for the second time with Ajit Pawar as his deputy, a visibly shell-shocked Sanjay Raut spoke to the press where he called Ajit Pawar a ‘backstabber’.
Raut stated that Ajit Pawar was sitting with them till 9 PM yesterday. He stated that Pawar was participating in all the discussions in the meeting between NCP, Sena and Congress. He added that Pawar had ‘the look of a thief’ and he had switched off his phone.
#WATCH Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena: Kal 9 baje tak ye mahashaye (Ajit Pawar) hamare saath baithe the, achanak se gayab ho gaye baad mein. Vo nazro se nazre mila kar nahi bol rahe the, jo vyakti paap karne jata hai uski nazar jaise jhukti hai, waise jhuki nazro se baat kar rahe the. pic.twitter.com/dL6olqXFK9
— ANI (@ANI) November 23, 2019
Raut also blamed the BJP for ‘misusing’ the Raj Bhavan. He asked why did the government not take oath in the day? Why did they do it in the darkness? However, he seemed to have missed the fact that Fadnavis has taken oath at 7.30 in the morning.
Raut further added that the BJP and Ajit Pawar have ‘betrayed’ the people of Maharashtra and have smeared the name of Shivaji Maharaj. He added that the people of Maharashtra will never forgive them. He called the government formation ‘Andhere main Paap'(sin committed in darkness). He also equated Fadnavis’ oath-taking as thievery and robbery.
Sena also claimed that NCP chief Sharad Pawar had nothing to do with Ajit Pawar’s decision. Raut claimed that Udhdhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar have already spoken twice over the phone and they might address a joint press conference later in the day.
Raut also cursed Ajit Pawar a lot. After calling him a thief, and backstabber, he added that Ajit Pawar has betrayed everyone and ‘Woh zindagi bhar tadapte rahenge’ (he will have lifelong suffering).
It is notable here that yesterday, the Sena-NCP and the Congress had held meetings and there were discussions over the Common minimum Programme. From media reports, it was apparent that Sena will finally get the CM chair for which it had left the pre-poll alliance with BJP. Media reports had named Uddhav Thackeray as the next Maharashtra CM.
There were also reports of a tussle between the three parties over ministerial berths and key posts, such as assembly speaker.
It is being reported that Ajit Pawar has broken away from the NCP with 22 MLAs to join Fadnavis. Sharad Pawar has tweeted saying that Ajit’s decision was his own.
BJP’s Chandrakant Patil has stated that Sanjay Raut should at least now keep silent. He added that Raut has ‘ruined’ the Shiv Sena.
