Sanjay Raut (left) and Amit Shah.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: Hours after the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), through an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana', linked Union Home Minister Amit Shah linking him to the Sohrabuddin Shaikh fake encounter case, the BJP hit back at the former Maharashtra Chief Minister’s aide and Rajya Sabha member saying that the CBI failed to present credible evidence.
In an editorial in Marathi broadsheet mouthpiece 'Saamana' and its Hindi tabloid version 'Dopahar ka Saamana', the Thackeray-led party hit out at Shah, a close aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"When Amit Shah was the Home Minister of Gujarat, he was arrested in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. During that period, Shah had almost vanished, and before going to jail, his resignation was not because of any moral issue. There was substantial evidence against him, and the noose had already tightened on him. Shah says that until he was acquitted as innocent, he didn't work on any constitutional post. This statement of Shah does not hold good. Following the BJP government's rise to power at the Centre and in Gujarat, Amit Shah was acquitted by exerting pressure on the agencies. It was Shah himself who started the misuse of government institutions," the editorial stated.
Raut, the Rajya Sabha member and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief spokesperson, is the executive editor of 'Saamana'.
However, Maharashtra BJP’s chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye slammed Raut for the editorial saying that that a new mullah shouts the loudest.
Criticising Shah in a 'Saamana' editorial over the Sohrabuddin case is like the thief yelling “thief!”—a complete reversal of facts. Having abandoned Hindutva and surrendered to Rahul Gandhi’s feudal leadership, Raut—now fully absorbed into Congress—attacks BJP leaders daily, just as the saying goes, “naya mullah zor se bang deta hai” (a new mullah shouts the loudest). Even Rahul Gandhi must be chuckling and saying, “He’s new…” while watching Raut’s antics. Forget everything else—at the very least, the Saamana team should have remembered their own earlier editorials on the Sohrabuddin case.”
Upadhye alleged that when Modi was Chief Minister of Gujarat and Shah was Home Minister, the then-Congress government at the Centre, driven by political vendetta, tried to destabilise the Gujarat government.
“The CBI was misused to target Shah in the Sohrabuddin gangster encounter case. This is a prime example of how far Congress could go to appease the Muslim vote bank. Ultimately, Amit Shah was acquitted by all courts. The CBI failed to present any credible evidence. Moreover, Shah resigned from his post, went to jail, and only accepted any constitutional position after being completely acquitted in all cases. Had Sanjay Raut even read the old Saamana editorials, he would not have written such a piece on this matter today,” he said.
“And it’s almost laughable that Raut—who was himself arrested in the Patra Chawl scam involving irregularities in a housing project meant for the Marathi common man—is now delivering lectures on ethics and morality,” he said.