By Marcellus D’Souza

Apr 10: His mannerisms, style of speaking, controversial statements and aggression makes Sanjay Raut the darling of any political cartoonists or student of all things Maharashtrian.

His latest shocker is that ‘the centre is making efforts to make Mumbai a Union Territory (UT) and “bring in Centre’s rule in the city”’. He further alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Kirit Somaiya and a group of party leaders, builders, and businessmen were part of this “conspiracy”.

“Kirit Somaiya is a part of a conspiracy to make Mumbai a Union Territory. These people have made a presentation to the union home ministry. Some BJP leaders, their financiers and developers from Mumbai are being led by Somaiya on how to make Mumbai a UT. Five people from BJP have prepared this presentation. They want to remove Marathi Manoos’ rights on Mumbai and bring in Centre’s rule in the city,” Raut said on Friday.

He makes fresh charges almost every day. He smelt the rat in the attack on the home of NCP leader Sharad Pawar by striking Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) employees with stones and shoes and called it another ‘conspiracy’ perpetrated by his bête noir Kirit Somaiya. The two leaders have a running feud on various allegations and counter allegations.

Sanjay Raut loves to surround himself in controversies. In 2012 on the death of Bal Thackeray when two girls, who posted and liked a comment on Facebook about their view of Mumbai shutting down were arrested, he justified the action by saying “We support the police's action, the Facebook comments could have led to a law and order situation.” Again in 2015, Sanjay Raut made a controversy statement by saying “the voting rights of Muslims should be revoked for some years to ensure the community is not used for vote bank politics”. Writing in the ‘Saamna’, of which he is the Editor, he wrote, “Till Muslims are used as vote-banks, they have no future. This is why Bal Thackeray had demanded that Muslims' voting rights be taken away.”

Born in the coastal city of Alibaug, he hails from the ‘Raut’ or ‘Thethwar’ caste, whose traditional occupation is herding.

The latest controversy surrounding him is t the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid on his premises wherein eight parcels of land in his native Alibaug and a flat in Mumbai's Dadar suburb under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) were attached. On Thursday, Sanjay Raut declared “It is a well-known fact that I am NCP President Sharad Pawar's man”. His remarks come a day after Pawar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and raised the issue of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attaching the assets of Sanjay Raut.

Sanjay Raul loves to dare the situation he finds himself in. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha this week, he took on Union Home Minister Amit Shah directly. “The day I was targeted and my close ones raided, I called up Amit Shah that night. I told him that I respect you...you are a big leader and home minister of the country, but whatever is happening is not right. If you have any animosity with me then target me, torture me, why are they (central agencies) targeting my friends and relatives,” he said. He asked Shah to look him in the eye and give an appropriate reply to the charge that the central agencies were being misused by the union government.

On, ‘Kashmir Files’ Sanjay Raut targeted the BJP for promoting the film with an eye on the upcoming assembly elections in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Writing in his weekly column ‘Rokkthok’ in ‘Saamna’, Raut claimed that an attempt has been made in the film to suppress several “harsh truths.” Raut said it was the BJP's promise to ensure the return of displaced Kashmiri Pandits to Kashmir, but it has not been fulfilled despite the abrogation of Article 370, and sought to know whose failure was it. Raut labeled Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being the main promoter of the film.

Sanjay Raut, a B.Com graduate from The University of Mumbai is married to Varsha Raut, a teacher, and has two daughters, Puruvashi and Vidhita. First elected to the Upper House of Parliament in the year 2000, he was appointed leader of the Shiv Sena in 2005. He lives in ‘Maitri’ in ‘Friends colony’, in Bhandup, a suburb of Mumbai and owns a Hyundai Accent (2004) model car. He loves watching Hindi movies and sports programmes. He wrote the story for the bio-pic “Thackeray”, and got Nawaazuddin Siddiqui played to play the role of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, who was lovingly called Hindu Hruday Samrat or “Emperor of Hindu Hearts”.

Sanjay Raut prides himself as being “vegetarian”. He wants his egg and chicken to be classified as vegetarian. “Happens when you have non-veg cravings but want to tell yourself in the mirror that you're vegetarian”, he said in 2019. Commenting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decisions such as revocation of Article 370 and surgical strikes, he likened them to "fast food". "Surgical strikes and Article 370 are not the solutions for issues of 'roti, kapda, makaan' and unemployment," Raut said.

Raut as the official spokesperson of the ruling Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, puts on record the views of chief minister Uddhav Thackeray in writing and verbally. He is seen as being arrogant and much larger than any ordinary journalist who covers a political beat or is an editor.

He has a fan following of his own and his closeness to the powers that be in Maharashtra and in political is the envy of many. He is taken seriously most of the times but is dispensed off some times. Mumbai Police's Colaba Police Station summoned Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut to appear before it, on Friday, to record his statement with regard to a phone-tapping case. However, Raut refused to record the statement. His statement however, had the desired effect. One wonders if he is in the habit of kite-flying or bowls these googlies only for the sound and fury surrounding them.