Sanjay Raut hits back at Chandrakant Patil and Hasan Mushrif over Gokul chairman election

A political fight has broken out among Kolhapur leaders over the chairman's post at the Gokul milk union. A day earlier, BJP leader Chandrakant Patil had launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Satej Patil. Chandrakant Patil had said that Bunty Patil remained Bunty and never grew up. He had also warned that if Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis turned a hostile eye on him, Bunty Patil's empire would be destroyed.

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut replied at a press conference in Mumbai on Wednesday. Raut said people like Chandrakant Patil have a destructive mindset. According to him, those who are not capable themselves hate the ability of others. He said this about Chandrakant Patil.

On the Gokul election, Raut said Kolhapur's farmers had chosen the like-minded panel by giving it a majority of 13 directors. He alleged that Fadnavis nevertheless appointed four government members to Gokul under pressure from Amit Shah. Raut claimed Shah wants to sell Gokul to Gujarat's Amul and that two "bulls" of Kolhapur are helping him. Raut said these bulls had created havoc the previous day. According to him, this is why the chairman's election could not be held, and this is what is called imposing and snatching. Raut said what happened in Kolhapur is fatal for democracy and has put a hole in the BJP's hold on power.

Raut also targeted Hasan Mushrif and Chandrakant Patil. He said such conduct does not suit either of them. In Raut's words, those who had run away in fear of the ED were slapping their thighs in challenge the previous day. Days keep changing in politics, he said, so they should not have to run again. He said no one should let these bulls stand at their door, especially Sharad Pawar.

Responding to Chandrakant Patil's reference to D Y Patil, Raut asked what D Y Patil moving around Kolhapur on a scooter had to do with the Gokul milk union. According to Raut, a man who rode a scooter built an empire of education across the world through his courage, ability and intelligence, and Marathi people are proud of it. He said Chandrakant Patil may perhaps be proud of Modi and Shah, but "we are proud of D Y Patil". Raut also asked where Modi's grandeur came from if he used to sell tea, and said Adani too used to ride a scooter. He offered to get Chandrakant Patil an appointment with Adani. Raut said that if the country's richest industrialist can be from Gujarat, why is a question raised over D Y Patil's empire.

Raut asked Chandrakant Patil where the money he is distributing at present is coming from. He said votes were bought in Kothrud for Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 and asked whether that money came from the technical education department or the revenue department. Raut said Fadnavis should rein in these leaders. He said a statement like "I will destroy Satej Patil" is the language of a minister. According to Raut, when power is in hand, even a dog thinks it has become a tiger.

Raut said that if the chief minister stood with Gokul and the farmers, he would not have appointed administrators in breach of the law. He asked what the chief minister is doing, whether he is dozing, when Hasan Mushrif talks of installing an administrator. He said, "You do not believe in democracy, which is why we talk of regime change." He said Kolhapur's farmers have brought about a regime change in Gokul, which the other side is not ready to accept.

At the same press conference, Raut also made a statement on the Nationalist Congress Party. He said 20 to 22 MLAs of Sunetra Pawar's party, which he described as Amit Shah's Nationalist Congress Party, could walk out at any time. According to Raut, they are in that frame of mind and are not meeting Sharad Pawar merely to chat. He said Ajit Pawar's leadership is gone, that he has to serve as a subordinate and pawn his self-respect. Raut said that if they return to their old home, he will not call it a merger, or else they will go to one or two other parties. Raut described both Sunetra Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party and Shinde's party as garments of the BJP.