Union Minister Ramdas Athawale says will welcome Kangana if she joins BJP or RPI
Mumbai: Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Thursday met Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut, who has been at the centre of a controversy over her remarks on Mumbai and its police, and said she need not be afraid while in the city.
Athawale, a BJP ally, made it clear he does not agree with the remarks made by Ranaut, who had likened Mumbai to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and criticised the city police.
Athawale alleged that the Shiv Sena-controlled BMCs demolition drive at her bungalow in suburban Bandra was carried out a sentiment of revenge and added the Maharashtra government, too, had a role in it.
The minister said Ranaut had spoken the truth in connection with the death case of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
He said the CBI, which is probing the death case, should arrive at a conclusion whether Rajput committed suicide or was murdered.
The Shiv Sena, which heads the alliance government in the state, and Ranaut had engaged in a war of words after she likened Mumbai to PoK and said she feared Mumbai Police more than alleged movie mafia.
Using a bulldozer and excavators, a BMC team had demolished the alterations allegedly made without the civic body's approval at Ranaut's bungalow at Pali Hill in suburban Bandra on Wednesday morning.
Athawale met Ranaut at her residence in suburban Khar here.
I spoke to her for an hour. I told her she need not be afraid in Mumbai. Mumbai is of the Shiv Sena, RPI-A, BJP, Congress, NCP and people of all religion, caste and speaking all languages.
Mumbai is the financial capital of the country. I told her our party (RPI-A) will be with her, Athawale said after meeting the actress.
Athawale said he respects Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and added the latter, who also heads the Sena, could have asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to refrain from undertaking the demolition drive at Ranaut's bungalow.
But it did not happen. We think the government, too, is behind it. The Pali Hill office action was taken on the orders of Uddhav Thackeray, he alleged.
The minister said Ranaut feels she was insulted by the BMC.
She said the BMC could have razed two-three inches of additional construction if it felt there was any. But the BMC demolished furniture inside the office too. She thinks she should get compensation, Athawale added.
The minister further said a case should be filed against Shiv Senas mouthpiece Saamana and its executive editor Sanjay Raut for allegedly carrying a story linking Kangana with drugs.
Does Saamana have any proof? A case should be filed against 'Saamana' and Raut if they file a story without proof, he added.
To a question, Athawale said he will welcome the actress into his partys fold if she wished to join it.
Kangana said she is not interested in politics...but if she joins the RPI, I will welcome her 100 per cent. If she joins the BJP, we will welcome the decision 50 per cent, he said.
Athawales party had come out in support of the actress and offered her security at the Mumbai airport when she returned to the city on Wednesday amid sloganeering by Shiv Sena workers.
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
