No evidence against opposition leaders held by central agencies in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi: Sanjay Raut

Mumbai, June 21

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, on Friday, claimed that there was no evidence against opposition leaders arrested by the central agencies in Maharashtra, Delhi and Jharkhand, a remark coming a day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was granted bail by a court.

Talking to reporters here, Raut drew parallel to his own arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged money laundering and that of other opposition leaders like Kejriwal, former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, former Maharashtra ministers Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik in different cases.

“There is no evidence against (opposition) leaders in Maharashtra, Delhi and Jharkhand who were arrested by the central agencies,” Raut said.

The arrests in the alleged ‘khichdi’ and COVID-19 scams in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation were also made due to political reasons, the Sena (UBT) MP claimed.

He also alleged that Kejriwal’s only crime was that his party defeated the BJP in 2015 and 2020 Delhi assembly polls. “This is why he was implicated in false cases,” he said.

Kejriwal was granted bail in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged excise policy scam on Thursday. However, the ED moved the high court on Friday, which put on hold the trial court order.

The ED had arrested Kejriwal on March 21.

Claiming that the 2024 Lok Sabha mandate had declined a full majority to the BJP, Raut said the central agencies must learn a lesson from it.