Thanks for Understanding, Says Sena’s Sanjay Raut After Amit Shah Clears Stand on Maha Governor Letter Row

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday welcomed Union Home Minister Amit Shah‘s remark that Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari could have chosen his words better while writing to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on reopening places of worship in the state.

Speaking to a TV channel, Raut also said that with Shah’s statement, the Shiv Sena has put the issue to rest.

Koshyari recently wrote to Thackeray on reopening places of worship in the state and asked if the Shiv Sena president had “suddenly turned secular”, triggering a war of words between the governor and the chief minister.

Shah, in an exclusive interview on Saturday with editor-in-chief Rahul Joshi, said that “Koshyari could have chosen his words better”.

Reacting to it, Raut said Shah is the country’s home minister and speaks with responsibility and caution. The Raj Bhavan and the office of governor is a constitutional institution and falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs, he said.

“The governor’s letter followed by the chief minister’s reply was an unavoidable controversy and we haven’t started it. But, we are satisfied with the Union Home Minister’s stand and thank him for understanding the reason for our anger,” said Raut.

With Shah’s statement, the Shiv Sena has put the issue to rest, the party’s chief spokesperson said.

Raut dismissed speculation that Shah was being soft on the Shiv Sena, a year it snapped its ties with the BJP. “There is nothing political. What Shah spoke was in line with the Constitution of India,” he said.

“On Shah’s comments that the case of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death should have been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) earlier, Raut asked, “Why should that have been done when the Mumbai Police are capable of probing it? Before the investigation was completed, the case went to the CBI. What has the CBI found? Truth will come out,” the Shiv Sena leader said.