You stole papers from ED or joined it for extortion, Shiv Sena asks Union Minister

Narayan Rane claimed Central agency ready with notices to four members of Uddhav Thackeray family

A day after Union Minister Narayan Rane claimed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is ready with notices to four members of Shiv Sena president and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s family, the Sena on Saturday shot back asking whether the Minister stole papers from the ED or had joined hands with the officers in the agency for extortion.

“Sanjay Raut has already exposed how the ED is extorting money in Mumbai. But now, this Union Minister is joining the ED to issue threats. The issue will be raised in the upcoming Parliament session,” said Sena Lok Sabha MP Vinayak Raut at a press conference in the party headquarters, Sena Bhavan. Mr. Raut reminded the Union Minister about the murder cases he was linked to in the past and cited allegations by former CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis against Mr. Rane when the latter was in the Congress.

“We will be meeting the State Home Minister asking about the status of these allegations made by Fadnavis against Rane,” said Mr. Raut.

Joining him, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said he will next week expose one of the biggest scams by the ED in Mumbai. The Rajya Sabha MP on Saturday morning targeted former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Kirit Somaiya and the ED in a tweet raising three questions targeting one Joint Director of the agency.

“1. Who hs investd 260 cr in Neerav Developers@ Vevoor,Palghar? 2.Are Neil&Medha Somaiya Dirctors on NikonGreenVille Project? 3.Whch Jt Dir of @dir_ed hs Benami invstmnt in ths project?” asked Mr. Raut. Neil is a son of Mr. Somaiya while Medha is the BJP leaders’ wife.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Rane denied any wrongdoing in the construction of his bungalow in the Juhu area here. The Sena ruled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has sent a notice to him based on a petition filed by a social activist who obtained papers under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Mr. Rane claimed that the Thackerays have committed a crime similar to that by NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, who had to spend more than two years in jail.

The Union Minister talked about the involvement of a young Minister in the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and his secretary Disha Salian. Despite Salian’s parents’ repeated requests not to drag her name as a victim of sexual assault, as her post mortem concluded no such assault, Mr. Rane went on to repeat the claim.