Shiv Sena leaders were treated like `slaves`: Sanjay Raut accuses BJP-led previous govt

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut alleged that the Bharatiya Janta Party-led previous government in Maharashtra treated his party like `slaves`.

Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut alleged that the Bharatiya Janta Party-led previous government in Maharashtra, with whom they were in alliance with from 2014 to 2019, treated his party like 'slaves'. Raut made these remarks while addressing Sena workers in Jalgaon in north Maharashtra on Saturday.

"The Shiv Sena had a secondary status in the previous government and was (treated) like slaves. Attempts were also made to finish off our party by misusing the very power which was enjoyed because of our support," he was quoted as saying by PTI.

Further, Raut claimed that Shiv Sainiks can be proud that the state's leadership is now in the hands of their party. "The Maha Vikas Aghadi government was formed with this sentiment (in November 2019)," he said.

The Shiv Sena-BJP alliance led by former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis crumbled in 2019 over the issue of chief ministership. The Sena, which was one of the oldest allies of the BJP, later formed an unlikely alliance with the NCP and Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra.

Raut's remarks came days after Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi separately, setting off political speculations in the state.