Shiv Sena workers come out on the streets in Thane in support of Sanjay Raut. Deepak Joshi As Sanjay Raut continued to attack BJP leader Kirit Somaiya over alleged siphoning of funds in the name of restoring decommissioned aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, the Shiv Sena on Thursday came out on the streets in Mumbai and other parts of the state in a show of strength for the Sena MP.
Thousands of Sena workers gathered at Mumbai airport to receive Raut, who was in New Delhi for the Budget Session of the Parliament. Raut was accompanied by Sena MP Vinayak Raut and party legislator Sunil Prabhu.
“This is not a show of strength. This is a spontaneous reaction of Shiv Sainiks against the corruption in the name of INS Vikrant. People have come on the streets against it,” Raut told mediapersons.
On Thursday, Raut had alleged that Somaiya had converted the money collected for restoring INS Vikrant from black to white through the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank and used the same for his election campaign and in the business of his son Neil Somaiya.
On Thursday, the Mumbai Police registered an FIR against Somaiya, Neil and others on charges of alleged cheating and criminal breach of trust linked to the collection of funds up to Rs 57 crore for restoring INS Vikrant.
Targeting leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Devendra Fadnavis, for defending Somaiya, Raut said, “I am surprised that Devendra Fadnavis, who speaks on nationalism and Hindutva, attempted to defend a traitor. It might have pained (MS) Golwalkar Guruji, Balasaheb Deoras, Dr (Keshav) Hegdewar and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to see this. The person who sits with you committed fraud in the name of a naval ship.”
Raut claimed that people close to Somaiya told him that over 700 donation boxes were used to collect funds from the general public in the name of restoring INS Vikrant. “I am told that 711 boxes were used to collect money. While they were kept at Somaiya’s office at Neelam Nagar in Mulund, some were opened and BJP workers were called to count the money. The money was diverted through PMC Bank. Some boxes were taken to Kirit Somaiya’s friend, who is a developer in Juhu. It is a case of money laundering as well,” he alleged.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
