Firebrand Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut struck a conciliatory tone by singling out deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for praise and expressing a desire to meet him soon, just one day after being freed on bail in a money laundering case. The deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, not Eknath Shinde, is in charge of running the state, according to Sena's chief spokesman.
Raut said such political vendetta as he had experienced was unheard of, but he bore no grudges against anyone and would not blame central agencies for it. The Rajya Sabha MP announced that he would visit to Delhi to meet with Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to inform them of the difficulties he has encountered while imprisoned for the past 100 days. His remarks appeared at odds with those of Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of his party, who pesisted in claiming that central agencies were puppets in the hands of the government and did its bidding.
Raut said, “A new government has been formed in the state. It’s made some good decisions…we will not oppose (decisions) for opposition’s sake. What is right for the people, the state as well as the country should always be welcomed. Devendra Fadnavis has taken some good decisions… I used to read this in the newspapers when I was in jail. ” He specifically referred to the decisions to provide housing to the poor and rights to the elderly. “I will meet Fadnavis in the next 2-4 days. I think the deputy CM is running the affairs of the state. ”
When Raut went to the Thackeray family home, he met Uddhav and Aaditya Thackeray, the Sena party's leader. Later, the Sena MP was scheduled to go to Sharad Pawar's home in Silver Oak. Raut expressed his happiness at rejoining his family.
