Sanjay Raut demands Bharat Ratna for Balasaheb Thackeray, criticises Modi, Shah
Mumbai: On the birth anniversary of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut called for conferring him with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour.
"Balasaheb Thackeray should be awarded the Bharat Ratna. He established Shiv Sena and fought for the rights of Marathi people," Raut said on Thursday.
Raut criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah after they paid homage to Thackeray on X (formerly Twitter). "Conferring the Bharat Ratna would be the true respect for Balasaheb. PM Modi and Amit Shah attempted to break Shiv Sena, and now they are tweeting to wish him on his birthday. This is hypocrisy," he remarked.
He also took a dig at Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, accusing them of paying insincere tributes. "Shiv Sena was Balasaheb Thackeray's soul, and they attacked it for political gains," he added.
Praising Thackeray, Raut stated, "Leaders like Balasaheb Thackeray are born once in a lifetime. He transformed ordinary people into leaders without ever holding a position himself."
Earlier in the day, PM Modi, Amit Shah, and other prominent leaders paid homage to Thackeray. In a post on X, PM Modi said, "I pay homage to Balasaheb Thackeray Ji on his birth anniversary. He is widely respected for his commitment to public welfare and Maharashtra’s development."
Balasaheb Thackeray founded the Shiv Sena party and was known for his advocacy for Maratha and Hindu causes.
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Punjab Police cops withdrawn from Kejriwal's security
Chandigarh, Jan 23 (PTI): Punjab Police personnel deployed in the security of Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal have been withdrawn, the state police chief said on Thursday.
"Time to time, we get reports of threats to chief minister Bhagwant Mann and Arvind Kejriwal and we share them with the concerned agencies.
"Following the directions of the Delhi police and the Election Commission today, we withdrew the component of the Punjab police in the security of Kejriwal ji," Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav told reporters in Patiala.
"We showed our concerns to them. We will remain in touch with them. We will share our inputs with the Delhi police," he said.
The development comes ahead of the elections for the 70-member Delhi Assembly on February 5. The poll results are set to be declared on February 8.
