Sanjay Raut defends 'corpses' remark with fresh jibe at rebels; calls them 'slaves of BJP'

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut defended his 'corpses and buffalo' shocker on Monday, questioning what wrong he committed by using the phrase. Speaking to reporters, Raut stated that this was a common way of speaking and asserted that he did not insult anyone. The leader also furthered his tirade against the Eknath Shinde-led rebel camp, stating that those once closest to the Shiv Sena were now turning into slaves of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 

"Their bodies are alive, but their soul is dead, it is a way of speaking in Maharashtra. What wrong did I say? I tweeted what Gulabrao Patil said, what he said is correct for all those sitting in Guwahati. How people change their fathers. We are not those who change their fathers, that is what Gulabrao Patil said. Forty years you were in the party, now you quit. I did not insult anyone, I spoke about what happened," said Sanjay Raut. 

He added, "Deepak Kesarkar, Uday Samant are all close to us. Eknath Shinde was one of our closest. We had shared happiness and sorrow. This is now a street fight as well as a legal fight. 120 people have died in the floods in Assam, why are you sitting here, you should come back. They showed their daring and went to Surat and Guwahati where the Central agencies gave them protection. Once you get protection, you become slaves of the BJP. How can you join hands with those who have had relations with a person like Mehbooba Mufti?"

Raut remarked that after working with the support of Balasaheb Thackeray for decades, the rebels had left his son Uddhav Thackeray when he was unwell. "You left him like this? The people of Maharashtra will not accept this. The Central agencies and ED don't vote for you, the people do. Show me one example of when Shiv Sena compromised with Hindutva. Shinde can go to AIMIM, Communist Party, or MNS, but the way he betrayed us, Maharashtra will never forgive him. If with MNS, he can get the CM post, he will go there as well," he claimed.

Eknath Shinde to chair key meeting at 2 pm on June 27

As the political crisis reaches the doors of the top court, Eknath Shinde has called a meeting at 2 PM to discuss the future course of action. At 10.30 AM today, the Supreme Court will hear the plea of the Shiv Sena rebels against the disqualification proceedings and the appointment of Ajay Choudhari as the Legislative Party leader. 

On Sunday, Uday Samant became the 9th Minister in the Maharashtra government to join the rebels. Apart from Eknath Shinde, the other Ministers in the rebel camp include Gulabrao Patil, Shamburaje Desai, Dada Bhuse, Uday Samant, Abdul Sattar, Sandipanrao Bhumare, Rajendra Yadravkar and Bachchu Kadu. At present, Aaditya Thackeray and Subhash Desai are the only Shiv Sena Ministers in the Cabinet who are backing Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray.