Mumbai: Nearly ten years after his maiden political venture as a Samajwadi Party candidate failed to take off from Uttar Pradesh, Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt is set to re-enter politics, according to a minister from Maharashtra.
Dutt, 60, is set to join the Rashtriya Samaj Paksh (RSP) on September 25, party founder and Cabinet minister Mahadev Jankar disclosed here on Sunday.
The RSP is a junior ally of the ruling BJP in Maharashtra. Jankar said the RSP was tapping the film industry to expand his party which mainly represents 'Dhangar' or the shepherd community.
"...We have started working in the film sector as well to expand our party. As part of which, actor Sanjay Dutt is also joining the Rashtriya Samaj Paksh on September 25," Jankar, who holds Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development portfolios, announced while addressing a party event.
He also played a pre-recorded video of the actor in which the latter has greeted the RSP and addressed Jankar as his "brother".
The RSP has been part of the BJP-led NDA since the 2014 Maharashtra Assembly elections. Out of the six candidates, RSP candidate Rahul Kul had won from Daund seat.
Jankar unsuccessfully contested against NCP chief Sharad Pawar from Madha Lok Sabha constituency in 2009. Meanwhile, Jankar has demanded more seats compared to 2014 for his party to contest the upcoming assembly elections.
Commenting on reservation for the Dhangar community, Jankar said, "Of the total work (on reservation), 60 per cent work has been done so far. The 'Dhangar' (shepherd) community is getting many benefits compared to what it used to get earlier".
The Dhangar community has been demanding reservation under the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category. They are currently classified under the VJNT (Vimukta Jati Nomadic Tribes) grouping.
Dutt was a Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate for the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency in 2009 but withdrew after the court refused to suspend his conviction under the Arms Act.
He was later appointed as the general secretary of the SP but resigned and subsequently quit the party. Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, rumours were doing rounds about Dutt might contest. He had then denied the reports.
Dutt's father late Sunil Dutt had represented Mumbai North West constituency as a Congress leader for five terms. He had also served as the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports in the UPA-I government during 2004-May 2005 before his death.
Sanjay Dutt's sister Priya Dutt is a former MP of the Congress from Mumbai.
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In an impassioned plea, Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt, the wife of former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, has denounced what she terms as an "illegal" and "unlawful" conviction handed down to her husband by the Palanpur Sessions court in Gujarat. Sanjiv Bhatt, already serving a life sentence in a separate case, was sentenced to an additional 20 years in jail in connection with a 1996 case involving the planting of drugs to frame a Rajasthan-based lawyer.
Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt took to social media platform X to express her outrage at the court's decision, decrying it as a gross miscarriage of justice. In her post, she alleged that the judiciary, represented by "Justice" J.N. Thakkar, had delivered a verdict riddled with illegality and falsehoods. She asserted that her husband had been falsely implicated in a fabricated case that dates back nearly three decades.
The crux of Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt's argument lies in the court's ruling that the 20-year sentence handed to her husband would not run concurrently with his existing life imprisonment term. Instead, the court ordered that the 20-year sentence would commence only after the completion of the life imprisonment term, effectively ensuring that her husband would spend a considerable portion of his life behind bars.
Furthermore, Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt lamented that the time her husband had already spent as an under-trial during the prolonged legal proceedings would not be counted towards his sentence. This, she contended, amounted to a flagrant violation of legal principles and a denial of basic human rights.
"Justice" J.N. Thakkar today pronounced an unlawful conviction of 20 years of rigorous imprisonment NOT CONCURRENT to the Life Imprisonment sentence along with a fine of 5 lakh rupees. Which means, the 5.5 years spent as an under-trial in this case while the prosecution maliciously dragged the fabricated case on and on will not be counted towards the 20 years of imprisonment or the unlawful Life imprisonment sentence… In fact, in a gross departure from legal principles, as per the judgement pronounced by J.N. Thakkar, the 20 years of imprisonment are to start and counted after the completion of the Life Imprisonment sentence. THE REGIME WANTS TO PUNISH SANJIV BHATT TO DEATH AND THEN PUNISH HIM BEYOND DEATH FOR A CRIME HE DID NOT COMMIT!!!” Shweta’s post read.
In her plea, Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt accused the ruling regime of orchestrating a campaign to silence her husband, whom she portrayed as a fearless advocate for truth and justice. She asserted that the relentless persecution faced by Sanjiv Bhatt over the past two decades was a testament to the threat his truth posed to those in power.
“Just when you think the regime and their bootlickers cannot stoop any lower, they fall further down to unimaginable lows! Not only is this an absolute mockery of the judiciary and blatant abuse of power but it stands against every legal tenant of jurisprudence! This is the heavy and cruel price Sanjiv Bhatt is paying for standing up for what is right while the very society he sacrificed his everything to protect remains silent and watches on as mute spectators. This is the price Sanjiv Bhatt is paying for your continued silence and apathy …” Shweta wrote in her tweet.
“Dangerous examples continue to be made of Sanjiv Bhatt as the regime continues to leave no stone unturned to prosecute and target him, so much so that they are using any and every desperate means, to discredit Sanjiv and ensure he spends his life languishing in jail. The regime has targeted and persecuted Sanjiv Bhatt relentlessly for the last 2 decades, which is testimony to the colossal threat Sanjiv’s truth poses to this regime. The misuse of the judiciary and abuse of power is only indicative of how desperate the regime is to silence Sanjiv at any cost!” she added.
Drawing attention to what she perceives as a broader erosion of democratic values and the rule of law, Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt called upon society to rally behind her husband and denounce the injustice being meted out to him. She urged individuals to speak out against what she described as a "declaration of war against truth" and to stand in solidarity against tyranny and oppression.
“You failed to protect your defenders; will another defender ever stand up to defend you in the future!? The regime and its lackeys, intoxicated by power and fuelled by malice, are determined to crush dissent, to silence the voices that dare to speak out against their tyranny. Let us rise, not in anger, but in solidarity. Let us raise our voices, not in hatred, but in unwavering determination. Let us fight, for Sanjiv Bhatt … against the injustice meted out to him! This isn't just injustice; this is a declaration of war against truth, against righteousness, against the very essence of humanity!!” she further added.
This is Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt,
— Sanjiv Bhatt (IPS) (@sanjivbhatt) March 28, 2024
Today, on 28th March 2024, the “Justice” J.N. Thakkar of the Palanpur Sessions court illegally and falsely convicted Sanjiv Bhatt in a 28-year-old fabricated case.
"Justice" J.N. Thakkar today pronounced an unlawful conviction of 20 years of… pic.twitter.com/CU9EamCZCo