Rahul Gandhi's article has exposed BJP, says Sanjay Raut; claims believers in democracy concerned
Mumbai, Jun 8 (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday claimed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's article alleging "match-fixing" and "rigging" in the 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls has exposed the BJP.
Raut claimed Gandhi's article, which was published in several newspapers, has led to concern among those people in the world who believe in democracy.
He further claimed Gandhi is an "extraordinary human being" and occupies a constitutional post of Leader of Opposition.
"The BJP has been exposed. (Chief Minister) Devendra Fadnavis may write articles but the entire world knows how the elections were won," Raut said.
On Saturday, Gandhi, in an article published in several newspapers and in posts on X, claimed the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections were a "blueprint for rigging democracy" and alleged this "match-fixing" would happen next in Bihar, where polls are due later this year.
To this, Fadnavis responded with an article in which he said instead of introspecting on the defeat in the 2024 state assembly polls, Gandhi has been repudiating the mandate given by the people because they rejected him.
Raut claimed the BJP could not have won even 25 seats in the polls to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly, while the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP would have emerged victorious on less than 10.
"It was not possible for the BJP and its allies to win the Maharashtra state assembly polls," he said.
The election was "hijacked" under the pretext of the Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana, a scheme credited for the Mahayuti's stupendous success, he claimed.
In the assembly polls held in November last year, the BJP won 132 seats, followed by 57 for the Shiv Sena and 41 for the NCP. The opposition Congress emerged victorious on 16, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on 20 and Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP) on 10.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
