In a stunning revelation, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has claimed that Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, during his tenure as agriculture minister in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), and Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray had protected then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi from arrest and then Gujarat home minister Amit Shah from legal action.
Raut made the claims in a book titled ‘Narkatala Swarg’ (Heaven in hell) which he wrote based on his memories of jail time in 2022, after his release.
Ahead of the book’s launch today, Raut called on Pawar on Friday inviting him for the launch and also presented a copy to him. The book will be launched at the hands of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Pawar, lyricist Javed Akhtar and All India Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale.
Raut was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over charges of corruption and money laundering in the Patra Chawl redevelopment, in Goregaon. He was arrested on August 1, 2022 – nearly two months after Eknath Shinde split the Shiv Sena, toppled the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, and allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to become the chief minister the state leading the Mahayuti.
Explaining the chronology of events ahead of his arrest and split in Sena, Raut said when he was in Delhi a few months before that, one night a “well-wisher from BJP” came to meet him, accompanied by another man. “That well-wisher told me that it was time for the MVA to go and sought my help. When I enquired about the man accompanying him, I was told he belongs to the Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh (RSS) who was deputed to keep an eye on the political map of Maharashtra at the time, including me. They told me to engineer the split in Sena and if I failed to do so, ED and CBI would ensure I was thrown in jail.”Raut was granted bail on November 9, 2022, when the special PMLA court declared that he was arrested “for no reason”.
The book also details about political developments and shifts in favours at the time, corrupt practices in jail and fine line that ED officials often have to walk working on such cases.
While writing about the way in which Modi and Shah were saved by “two Marathi leaders” he also dwelled on how their parties were “rewarded” by Modi when he eventually became prime minister and Shah Union home minister. “Modi and Shah repaid the favour by pulling the rug from under their feet, by helping split up their parties,” Raut has said in the book.
In the chapter titled ‘Raja ka sandesha saaf hai’ (King’s message is clear), Raut wrote, “During the UPA regime then CM of Gujarat was facing investigations by the CBI and other agencies in several matters, including the Godhra riots. Shah who was the home minister of Gujarat was arrested. But in the cabinet of the UPA government Sharad Pawar opposed Modi’s arrest, saying it would not be a correct line of action as he was voted to power through a democratic process. Some others in cabinet agreed and Modi was saved from the arrest.”
In the same chapter, Raut underlined how Amit Shah and his son Jay came to meet Bal Thackeray at Matoshree, requesting him to save him from legal action. “Security personnel at the gate were told that it was an urgent meeting. Shah was sweating and waited for a long time, but his message did not reach Balasaheb. He and Jay returned the next day and finally got audience with Thackeray in the evening.”
Raut said, during the meeting Shah narrated how he helped Hindus during the Gujarat riots and was facing legal action for it. “That’s when Balasaheb called a person in the judiciary who was handling Shah’s case and reminded him that he himself was a Hindu. It worked and solved all of Shah’s problems, clearing the path for his political journey,” said Raut.
In another section of the book, he wrote about how one day a senior jail official walked up to him enquiring about his health, saying that he was doing so on behalf of CM Shinde. “Eknath Shinde is not a bad man. We had good relations when we were in the party. But he joined hands with BJP out of fear of being jailed,” he said. The excerpts of the book revealed on Friday led to chatter in the corridors of power. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “I have given up reading books that are unsuitable for my age. I do not read children’s literature.”
Shiv Sena leader and social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat said, “Raut has written imaginary stories to get attention. Balasaheb Thackeray helped Modi and Shah. But the story about how Shah went to Matoshree with his son is manipulated.”
Raut refuted the reactions saying he had “written only the truth”.