Patra Chawl case: Sambit Patra flays Opposition for supporting Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sambit Patra on Monday lashed out at those supporting arrested Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and said that the entire India is seeing the manner in which the Opposition is doing politics over corruption.

In a virtual address to the people, Patra on Monday said, "Entire India is seeing the manner in which the Opposition is doing politics over corruption. Sanjay Raut is involved in the Patra Chawl case and the Opposition is attempting to do politics by making him a pawn."

A special court in Mumbai on Monday sent Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut to Enforcement Directorate's (ED) custody till August 4. The ED has arrested Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of a Mumbai 'chawl', officials said. Raut, 60, was arrested on Sunday after over six hours of questioning at the ED's zonal office in south Mumbai's Ballard Estate.

The BJP leader further slammed those who questioned the work of Central investigative agencies.

"Should corruption not be investigated by various agencies meant to investigate corruption? Should ED not investigate cases where a scam of thousands of crores took place? As far as Sanjay Raut and Patra chawl is concerned, it's not a fresh case but ongoing for 14-15 years," said Sambit Patra.

On Monday, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi has given a suspension of business notice in the Rajya Sabha seeking to discuss the issue of "misuse of premier investigative agencies by the Central government for political agendas".

Highlighting the pain of those who suffered due to the scam, Patra said, "Houses of around 680 families were not built. Nobody is trying to find out about them. The Opposition should find out about them and get to know about their pain. This is a case involving a scam of Rs 1,000 crore. ED is investigating it. Money and facts are coming out."

"Why is there a sense of entitlement in Sanjay Raut? He's an MP. Does it mean there should not be an investigation against him? This is New India. If there is a corruption of hard-earned money of people, there is a policy of zero tolerance and it'll be investigated," he said.

Earlier, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray slammed the BJP over the arrest of Sena leader Sanjay Raut by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case and hailed the Rajya Sabha MP as a "true Shiv Sainik" who did not succumb to pressure.

"The BJP is conspiring to finish off regional parties. The mask is off. I had thanked (Governor Bhagat Singh) Koshiyari that you inadvertently brought the dream of crushing Marathis out before us. Similarly, the BJP president has also revealed they do not want other parties to exist in the country and want dictatorship," the former Maharashtra Chief Minister said in a virtual address.

(ANI)