By PTI
MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena on Saturday said the party leaders will meet Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil to demand reopening of murder cases in Sindhudurg district, the home district of Union minister and BJP leader Narayan Rane.
In a veiled reference to Rane, Shiv Sena MP from the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency and party spokesperson Vinayak Raut said that entire Maharashtra knows who was involved in murders and extortion.
“Levelling allegations of corruption and murders against Shiv Sena is a mockery (of the post held by Rane). Has he forgotten his past?” Raut questioned.
He alleged that “seven political murders” had taken place in the Sindhudurg district in the last nine years.
“We will ask the state home minister to reopen these cases,” Raut said.
The Shiv Sena heads the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra.
Walse Patil belongs to the Nationalist Congress Party.
Addressing a press conference here, Raut played videos of former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and BJP leader Kirit Somaiya speaking against Narayan Rane, who was earlier associated with Congress.
The exchange of words between Shiv Sena and Rane, a former Shiv Sainik, became sharper after Rane on Friday said that he had “learnt” that an ED notice is ready for “four persons” in ‘Matoshree’, the private residence of Uddhav Thackeray in suburban Bandra in Mumbai.
Earlier, the Shiv Sena-headed Mumbai civic body had served a notice on a bungalow owned by Narayan Rane for conducting inspection and taking measurements of the premises located in the upscale Juhu area.
Referring to Rane’s tweet on the ED notice, Raut said Rane was misusing his position as a Union minister to threaten action by the anti-money laundering agency against “Matoshree”.
He said the Shiv Sena will raise this issue during the next session of Parliament.
“Has he (Rane) stolen papers from the ED office or is anyone from ED working for him”, he asked.
Speaking at the same presser, Shiv Sena chief spokesman Sanjay Raut said that the party will expose a ” big ED scam” next week.
Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar said she was dismayed at Rane’s allegations regarding the death of Disha Salian, former manager of Bollywood actor the late Sushant Singh Rajput.
“Rane had maligned her character after her death,” she said and hoped that the state women’s commission will take note of Rane’s comments.
Salian, 28, allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the high-rise building in the Malad area here on June 8, 2020.
After the Shiv Sena-ruled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) issued a notice to him for inspection of his bungalow here, Union minister Narayan Rane on Saturday said he had taken all the permissions that were necessary for the construction of the property, and asserted that there were no irregularities in it.
The BJP leader also alleged that he was being “hounded” by the Shiv Sena and ‘Matoshree’, a reference to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, whose private residence in suburban Bandra bears that name.
The BMC on Thursday issued a notice to the bungalow owned by Rane in the upscale Juhu area for conducting inspection and taking measurements of the premises.
The ‘Adish’ bungalow falls under the K-west civic ward located in western suburbs of Mumbai.
The notice said a civic team will visit “to inspect the said premises and to take measurements and photographs of the same” and also asked the “owner” (not named in the notice) to be present for the same along with the last approved plan or authentic documents of the structure.
The notice came amid an escalating war of words between the leaders of ruling Shiv Sena and opposition BJP in the state.
Talking to reporters here, Rane said he had taken all the necessary permission before building his bungalow nearly 12 years back.
“The building (his residence) was built by a reputed architect and all norms were followed during its construction. Not an inch more has been constructed since the building was completed as no need for it ever arose,” he said.
Rane said this is not the first time that his house has been under scanner, but the authorities have never found any irregularities during their scrutiny in the past.
“Me, my wife, my two sons, their wives and children stay here. A total of eight people reside here. So we never felt the need to build anything more here,” Rane said, adding that he had informed late Sena chief Bal Thackeray about his decision to build a house at Juhu.
“The entire action (notice) is being undertaken to exact revenge by the Shiv Sena and ‘Matoshree’. I am being hounded,” Rane said without naming anyone.
Rane alleged that there are irregularities in the new residence of Uddhav Thackeray, but he (Rane) desisted from speaking about it since it was their personal matter.
Attacking Thackeray, Rane said the chief minister is neither seen visiting Mantralaya nor does he physically attend the cabinet meetings.
The enmity between Rane and Shiv Sena, particularly Uddhav Thackeray is known in Maharashtra political circles.
Rane was the chief minister in 1999 in the Sena-BJP government, but he later quit the party after his differences with Uddhav Thackeray.
Since then Rane and Thackeray have been at loggerheads.
Meanwhile, during his press conference, Rane also claimed that Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput and his former manager Disha Salian were murdered.
He also alleged that Salian was raped before being killed.
However, the minister did not furnish any evidence to buttress his claim.
