Hanuman Chalisa row: BJP desperate due to its inability to form govt in Maharashtra, claims Sanjay Raut

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A day after BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis slammed the Maharashtra government in the wake of a political row over the recitation of Hanuman Chalisa, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday claimed the BJP's desperation stems from its inability to come back to power in the state.

Talking to reporters here, Raut further said the BJP stands no chance of coming back to power in the state in the next 25 years. The Shiv Sena, which snapped ties with the BJP after the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls, currently shares power with the NCP and Congress in the state. Raut also claimed that former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, who alleged that he was attacked by Shiv Sainiks last week, had "applied tomato sauce to pretend he was bleeding".

His remarks came after a BJP delegation comprising former MP Somaiya and party MLAs from Mumbai met Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai in New Delhi on Monday, and urged him to form a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the alleged assault on Somaiya and review his security arrangements.  

Fadnavis had claimed that the Mumbai police were not taking seriously the "attack" on Somaiya over the weekend, allegedly by Shiv Sainiks. They wrote a letter to the Union home secretary, claiming the city police were acting like "servants" of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state.

Raut also slammed Fadnavis for his statement that if reciting Hanuman Chalisa attracts sedition, then he along with the people of his party will do it. The city police on Saturday arrested independent MP Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana and booked them on the charge of sedition after they gave a call to recite Hanuman Chalisa outside CM Thackeray's private residence 'Matoshree' in suburban Bandra.

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Raut said, "Fadnavis is misleading people. The charge of sedition has not been invoked for reciting Hanuman Chalisa. Don't read Hanuman Chalisa outside the houses of others. Do it in temples. (If) you will vitiate the environment by reciting Hanuman Chalisa, then you will be booked." Responding to Fadnavis' remark that if the Maharashtra government wants to use the ways of Hitler, then the BJP will prefer struggle over dialogue, Raut said those who know CM Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar will know this is the most democratic state in the country.

The Shiv Sena leader also said that 17 cases of murder and rape have been reported in Uttar Pradesh in the last three months. If one has to see what dictatorship is, then one must cite the case of Gujarat independent MLA Jignesh Mevani, who was arrested for tweeting allegedly against the prime minister and rearrested after being released, said the Rajya Sabha member.

"What kind of democracy is this? Devendra Fadanavis should also understand this type of democracy and express his opinion on it. The BJP's desperation stems from its inability to come back to power and there is no chance to again come back to power in the next 25 years. The only solution to this desperation is the recitation of Hanuman Chalisa at his house," Raut added. 

He also claimed that BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, who alleged that he was attacked by Shiv Sainiks last week, had applied tomato sauce to pretend he was bleeding.

"Any mad, psychopath says that he has been attacked by applying tomato sauce and demands President's rule in the state then this foolishness should be ignored,ö Raut said. On the BJP skipping the all-party meeting called by the state home department on Monday to discuss directives on the use of loudspeakers at religious places Hamuman Chalisa, Raut said there was no need for the CM to attend the meeting since it was a home department-related issue.

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