₹2,000 crore deal to 'purchase' Shiv Sena name and symbol: Sanjay Raut
3 min read . Updated: 19 Feb 2023, 01:17 PM IST
Premium- Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday slammed the Election Commission (EC) for its move to recognise the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the real Shiv Sena, and termed its decision as a form of political violence aimed at finishing off the party
Sanjay Raut, leader of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) Sunday claimed a "deal of ₹2000 crore" has taken place so far to "purchase" the Shiv Sena party name and its 'bow and arrow' symbol.
Sanjay Raut also told reporters that the way the Election Commission of India (ECI) recognised the faction led by Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde as the real Shiv Sena was not justice but “business".
"And so far a transaction of ₹2,000 crore has happened in that case. This is my primary guess. This is my FIR. This decision was bought," the Rajya Sabha Sanjay Raut claimed.
"The government, the leader, and the group of unscrupulous people that puts a price of ₹50 crore to buy an MLA, bids ₹100 crore to buy a member of Parliament, bids ₹1 crore to buy our councillor and shakha pramukh, you can guess how much they can bid to buy the party symbol and party name," Raut further alleged. “It's ₹2,000 crore according to my knowledge."
However, MLA Sada Sarvankar from the camp led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde dismissed the claim and asked, "Is Sanjay Raut a cashier?" Raut in a tweet claimed the ₹2,000 crore was a preliminary figure and this was 100 per cent true. He also told reporters that a builder close to the ruling dispensation shared this information with him. The Rajya Sabha member said his claim was backed by proof which he would disclose soon.
Exuding confidence of winning the election with the 'torch' symbol, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday challenged Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde to contest the election with the "stolen bow and arrow", stating that the 'battle has begun'.
Shiv Sena (UBT) president Thackeray addressed his supporters on Saturday outside Matoshre.
He further said that the thieves were given the holy "bow and arrow" and that this is their test.
"Thieves were given the holy 'bow and arrow', similarly the 'torch' (mashaal) can be taken away. I challenge them - if they are men, come in front of us even with the stolen 'bow and arrow', we will contest the election with the 'torch'. This is our test, the battle has begun," Thackeray said.
Thackeray further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs the mask of Balasaheb Thackeray to come to Maharashtra but the people of the state know which face is real and which is not.
"I would like to say that they want the face of Balasahev Thackeray, they want the election symbol but not the family of Shiv Sena. PM Narendra Modi needs the mask of Balasaheb Thackeray to come to Maharashtra. People of the state know which face is real and which is not," said Thackeray.
In a major setback to the Uddhav Thackery faction of Shiv Sena, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday allotted the party name "Shiv Sena" and the symbol "Bow and Arrow" to the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Notably, both factions of Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray) have been fighting for the bow and arrow symbol of the party since Shinde (present Maharashtra Chief Minister) revolted against Thackeray last year.
While the Shinde faction welcomed the decision of being recognized as the real Shiv Sena, the Uddhav Thackeray faction said they will move the Supreme Court.
Earlier, the Eknath Shinde faction burst crackers and celebrated in Nashik today after the Election Commission order.