Raut’s book on arrest, jail term to be published soon

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday shared the cover of Narkatala Swarg’ (Heaven in the Hell), a book on his memories of arrest and imprisonment in 2022 over charges of corruption and money laundering. The cover features a caricature of Raut with arms raised, reminiscent of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, with a crowd assembled at the bottom.

The back cover of the book features a testimonial by well-known writer Raju Parulekar, which says, “During the era of darkness in the country, where rulers used government agencies to suppress the voice of dissent and frame journalists, industrialists and political leaders from the opposition, MP Sanjay Raut refused to be a traitor, did not succumb to threats and showed the courage to go jail.”

Raut was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on August 1, 2022, within a month of Eknath Shinde becoming the chief minister after engineering a vertical split in Shiv Sena and toppling the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. Though booked for money laundering in connection with redevelopment of the Patra chawl, he was granted bail in November 2022, with the court saying he had been arrested for “no reason”.

On Sunday, Raut said the book, narrating a never-heard-before story, would be published soon but refrained from sharing a date. He also spoke about the recent meeting between prime minister Narendra Modi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat in Nagpur. Modi met Bhagwat after around 10 years to resolve the pending issue of appointment of BJP’s national president as the term of incumbent national president JP Nadda is already over, he said.

“Why he (Modi) felt the need to visit the RSS chief is matter of research,” said Raut. “Modi never compromises except for the sake of power.”

The Shiv Sena (UBT) MP also slammed the ruling Mahayuti government over deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s statement ruling out a farm loan waiver for at least two years. “Now deputy chief minister Ekanth Shinde should sit on a protest against deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar for refusing to fulfil the promise of loan waiver to farmers,” said Raut. Pawar should resign on moral grounds, he said.