After Raj Thackeray claimed that a trap was being set up to file cases against his activists, the Shiv Sena on Sunday asked as to who would have filed cases against the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief’s people during Ayodhya tour, which it termed as “BJP-sponsored”. “Who stopped you from going to Ayodhya? Here, the BJP is supporting you and the BJP is in power in Uttar Pradesh. Who would have filed cases in Uttar Pradesh during Raj Thackeray's Ayodhya visit? Who would have filed cases against the BJP-sponsored tour? His (MNS chief) statement is very funny,” Raut said while speaking to media persons. Buy Now | Our best subscription plan now has a special price Raut was responding to the MNS chief’s remarks on Sunday during a rally in Pune that his Ayodhya tour was a trap and that cases would have been filed against his activists had he gone to UP. “The action against the party activists would have been taken ahead of the (civic body) polls and nobody would have been left there for the elections. This was a trap,” Thackeray alleged. Raut further said that the MNS chief had taken up Hindutva at his convenience. “When shops of other topics have shut, he is talking about Hindutva to see whether it works. But while taking a stand on Ayodhya and Ram Mandir, they should check their history. Matoshri has made him big too,” added Raut. On the MNS chief accusing the Sena of “destroying the credibility” of its founder Bal Thackeray, Raut said that Raj Thackeray should not be the one talking about it. “The Shiv Sena, the state of Maharashtra and the country knows about the credibility of Balasaheb. They should talk about themselves and their party. Balasaheb Thackeray’s Shiv Sena has been working in Maharashtra for 50 years,” he added. Referring to Aurangabad, Raut said, “Raj Thackeray is talking about Sambhajinagar, which has been renamed by Balasaheb Thackeray. Now, it needs to be given approval on paper. The Centre has a proposal in this regard and it will approve it.” Meanwhile, speaking on the ongoing investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against NCP Minister Nawab Malik, Raut said that the Centre should first bring Dawood Ibrahim from Pakistan. “The way the US went to Pakistan and killed bin Laden, the BJP’s central government should capture Dawood and bring him to Mumbai. First, you need to clarify whether Dawood is alive or not,” Raut added.
