"Together for political power, not ideological reasons": Sanjay Raut takes dig at Mahayuti alliance

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday took a dig at the Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra, saying that they are together for political power and not because of ideological similarities. He also said they focus on fulfilling their party's financial needs and then only come together to form the government.
"No matter how much those in the coalition government say that they are together because of ideological reasons, it is not like that. They come together for political power. They focus on fulfilling their party's financial needs and then come together to form the government," Raut told reporters in a press conference.
Speaking on the ongoing discussion regarding allocation for guardian ministership, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said that this process will remain ongoing, pointing out the delay in portfolio allocation even after forming the government a month ago.
"First the government was not formed and once they formed the government, portfolio allocation happened after a month, yesterday only. Now there is a discussion regarding the Guardian minister post. Nothing will happen from this...this will continue till the end..." Raut said.
He further said that the appointment of guardian ministers was of no use since they only serve their interests and it was another way to maintain power, Raut added.
"Munde (either Pankaja or Dhananjay) might be the guardian minister of Beed, will Santosh Deshmukh get justice? Whoever becomes the guardian minister for Parbhani, will Somnath Suryavanshi who was killed in police custody get justice? Whoever becomes the guardian minister of Thane, will the Marathi family get justice against the injustice they faced in Kalyan? This has no use. This is just another way to maintain power for oneself. Those who become the Guardian Minister of Gadchiroli don't work towards finishing Naxalism. The ministerial position is required for the mining companies worth crores. This is my assessment," Raut said in Marathi.
Taking a dig at Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, Raut said that his party was working with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which considers Devendra Fadnavis, Narendra Modi, and Amit Shah as their "ideals". However, the Shiv Sena MP said his party's position on the three BJP leaders was clear that they were the "enemies" of Maharashtra.
"If the Thackeray brothers come together, the people of Maharashtra will cherish it. People have an immense connection with the Thackeray family...Both brothers have different parties. Raj Thackeray established his own party (MNS) but works with the BJP. Devendra Fadnavis, Narendra Modi, and Amit Shah are their ideals. But our party doesn't work like this. We have a clear position that these people are enemies of Maharashtra. These three are responsible for looting Maharashtra and Mumbai," Raut said.
Speaking on the changes in election conduct rules, Raut declared that it was the murder of democracy.
"This is the murder of democracy. The rule that has been made is that we cannot go to the Election Commission and ask for information. Now we cannot ask for any kind of information from the Election Commission. This is a dictatorship. Why can't we ask? If you want that we don't ask for information from you, then first of all you should remove EVM and conduct elections on ballot paper," Raut said.
He accused the Election Commission of changing the rules after it was asked for CCTV footage and election documents.
"We will not ask for any information. What do you want to hide from the public? Advocate Mohammad tried to ask for documents. He asked for CCTV footage. After this, the Election Commission changed the rule. What kind of dictatorship is this? There is democracy in the country. That is why we say that these people are against the Constitution written by Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar...We have the right to know what has happened to our votes. Where did the vote we gave go?" Raut remarked.
These changes come in the wake of a recent Punjab and Haryana High Court directive in the Mahmoud Pracha vs ECI case, where the court ordered the sharing of all documents related to the Haryana Assembly elections, including CCTV footage under Rule 93(2) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.