Sena slams Maharashtra govt for 'no damage control' after Deshmukh row

Sanjay Raut, the Executive Editor of Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece, Saamna has written a  caustic and sharp editorial on Sunday (March 28) criticising the Sena-led government Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for not doing enough ‘damage control’ in the recent controversies involving the Home Minister, Anil Deshmukh, who had anyway got the post by default.

Sanjay Raut, who is also the Sena party’s Rajya Sabha member, has even attacked Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari in the editorial and accused him of trying to help the Opposition to unseat the Udhhav Thackeray government.

The article titled ‘Doubting Maharashtra’s Character…The botched ‘Damage Control’ centred around how a situation was being created in the state to make Deshmukh resign and destabilise the government.

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Maharashtra’s ‘character’ has come under fire with the recent controversies, Raut wrote, referring to the explosive-laden car found outside Mukesh Ambani’s residence and the subsequent political fallouts. However, he criticised the MVA government for not properly handling the issue leading to a lot of confusion. No one came forward to face these charges and this has given the Opposition a leverage to attack them, Raut wrote.

According to Raut, Deshmukh got the Home Minister’s post by accident after Jayant Patil and Dilip Valse-Patil had turned it down. Sharad Pawar then handed over this post to Deshmukh, he revealed.

“This post has dignity and status,” the article said, and goes on to castigate the Maharashtra Home Minister, Anil Deshmukh, who is being accused by former police commissioner Param Bir Singh of asking the police to collect ₹100 crore every month through extortion. Raut said that Deshmukh has forgotten that “sharp leadership springs from honesty, and questions how a Home Minister can effectively function when he has close ties with “dubious characters”.

“What was a junior officer like Sachin Waze doing running a (money) collection racket from the Mumbai police commissioner’s office? And, why was the Home Minister not aware of it?” he questioned, said media reports.

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Moreover, he turns his ire on Governor Koshiyari, who he blames for not confirming the nomination of 12 members to the House. The Governor was tarnishing the image of the Raj Bhavan by entertaining several BJP leaders, who were demanding the dismissal of the government.

Meanwhile, the BJP has dubbed this article as “drama” and pointed out that the controversial, suspended cop, Sanjay Waze, who is in NIA custody for his role in the Ambani bomb scare case, was reinstated in the police force on Udhhav Thackeray’s recommendation.