Amravati (Maharashtra), May 9, 2024
Furious over Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut’s comments threatening Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, and comparisons with the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders here on Thursday lodged a police complaint demanding action against him.
A similar complaint has been filed by a local BJP activist in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad) against Raut with a plea to book him for his slurs on PM Modi and HM Shah comparing them with the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb at a rally in adjoining Ahmednagar.
Maharashtra unit BJP leaders S. Kulkarni and Jayant Dehankar lodged a complaint with Badnera police station referring to Raut’s threats at a public rally in Ahmednagar to ‘bury’ PM Modi and HM Shah in Maharashtra after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and termed them as “highly provocative, irresponsible and divisive”.
They also took umbrage at Raut’s comparisons of PM Modi and HM Shah’s series of election rallies in the state as ‘Aurangzeb-style of invasions’, as in poor taste and likely to disturb the peace in the election process.
The complainants contended that such statements could lead to social unrest and communal rifts, and spell a danger to the lives and security of the PM, top ministers and other senior leaders.
“We have also urged the Election Commission of India and other concerned authorities to thoroughly probe these matters and ensure stern action to avoid such inflammatory statements in the future,” Kulkarni later told mediapersons.
Last year, Raut had been booked for writing and making similar statements likening the BJP top brass with Aurangzeb, and said that just as the dreaded Mughal Emperor was taught a lesson by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the people of the state would give a fitting reply to the “BJP rulers” in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.(Agency)
