Sanjay Raut Criticizes BJP's Move to Appoint Suvendu Adhikari as Bengal CM

Mumbai, May 9 (UNI) Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and chief Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut has sharply criticized Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s decision to appoint Suvendu Adhikari as the Chief Minister of West Bengal. Speaking to the media on Saturday, Raut said, “The BJP has maintained its tradition of appointing highly corrupt individuals as Chief Ministers. During 2020, a sting operation caught five Trinamool Congress MPs accepting money on camera, and Suvendu Adhikari was one of them.”

However, the Maharashtra BJP chief spokesperson Navnath Ban countered Raut’s allegations. He said, “Sanjay Raut should not comment on the BJP’s traditions in West Bengal. When Uddhav Thackeray was Chief Minister, it was a tradition to recover Rs 100 crore daily. The BJP made Suvendu Adhikari the Chief Minister of Bengal because none of the allegations against him have been proven. The allegations against Sanjay Raut have been proven, and he has been jailed. Sanjay Raut should remember this.”

In his press conference, Raut also raised concerns about the Fadnavis government’s decision to allocate 294.66 acres of government land in Mira Road West to real estate development companies. He demanded that the land be recovered at any cost. “Who are the owners of Mira Real Estate Investment? The Maharashtra government has big lawyers, but the government still lost the case regarding its land in court. Did the government lose the case deliberately? The government must answer,” Raut asserted.

“Who is this real estate developer? Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule should find out and bring it to light. Yesterday, Bawankule said that he would challenge the court’s decision,” Raut added. The Maharashtra government has stated that it will file a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court if the land is transferred to private real estate companies.

“The land in question was given under lease to some companies. But after 1980, it is alleged that some private companies strengthened their claim on this land through various court orders and administrative decisions. The names of companies like Mira Real Estate Developers, Mira Salt Works, and Estate Investment have come to the fore,” Raut said. “In this case, private parties benefited from court orders in 1996, 2002, and 2018. The land transfer process was facilitated by decisions of some district collectors,” he alleged.

Countering these allegations, Maharashtra BJP chief spokesperson Navnath Ban said, “Not even an inch of the state government land in Mira-Bhayandar will be allowed to go to any private real estate company. We will fight right up to the Supreme Court. Just as the culprits in the Patra Chawl scam were put in jail, the accused in this case will also be put in jail. This is not a Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) or Uddhav Thackeray-Sanjay Raut government that will support any real estate developer.”

“Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule has publicly stated that the state government will approach the Supreme Court in the Mira-Bhayander Road cases and that government land will not be allowed to go to any real estate developer. Sanjay Raut questions even the High and Supreme Court, which is an insult to these courts,” Ban added.