Sanjay Raut, a Rajya Sabha MP from Shiv Sena (UBT), is known for his harsh criticism of the BJP during his morning press conferences. However, it seems that the BJP has decided to respond to him in a similar manner by assigning MLA Nitesh Rane to retaliate.
During his press conference in Sindhudurg on Thursday morning, Nitesh Rane strongly criticized Sanjay Raut for his accusations against Narayan Rane, a Union minister and BJP member, during a public gathering in Pune district the day before.
"Raut is like a cheap China-made toy. In politics one gets such toys at very cheap rates. But, he shouldn't be levelling baseless allegations against (Narayan) Rane Saheb. If he does so, we shall hit back in equal measure against Uddhav and Aaditya Thackeray," Nitesh said.
During a public meeting on Wednesday, Sanjay Raut had accused a BJP leader from Konkan of operating hundreds of shell companies and embezzling funds worth thousands of crores. In response, Nitesh Rane challenged Raut to present evidence and suggested that he take the matter to court or report it to investigating agencies. Nitesh also warned Raut to think twice before making unfounded accusations against any BJP leader and suggested that he should instead focus on Uddhav Thackeray.
Nitesh Rane also made allegations against Shiv Sena leaders, claiming that a young leader from the party is facing murder charges in the Disha Salian case, and a senior leader along with his close relatives have serious corruption charges against them. He then warned that Narayan Rane, who had been associated with Balasaheb Thackeray for almost four decades, knows many secrets about the Thackeray family. Thus, if Sanjay Raut continues to make baseless accusations, the Thackerays will also have to brace themselves to face all sorts of allegations.