Congress Not a Sinking Ship, its Breakaway Leaders Must Reunite to Make Party Stronger, Says Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said the Congress was not a sinking ship, and reiterated that the leaders who formed separate parties after quitting the grand old party in the past, must unite again to make it stronger.

He appealed to NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar to take an initiative in this direction, saying everyone must come together to fight against the "perverted" politics of the BJP.

Raut's remarks come a day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis dubbed the Congress as a sinking ship, and said a wise person would never board it.

Talking to reporters here, Raut said, "If we truly want to fight against the perverted politics of the BJP, everyone must unite. The Congress party must become stronger. All the leaders who had left the Congress should first come together. If senior leader Sharad Pawar takes an initiative, it would be possible. We are a regional party and we will stand with you." "Even today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is afraid of the Congress. Congress was never a sinking ship," the Sena (UBT) spokesperson added.

Earlier this week also Raut said parties like the TMC and NCP (SP) which were once part of the Congress should reunite and strengthen the grand old party as it was the "need of the hour".

Hitting out at the BJP, Raut said, "Show even one per cent of the work that the BJP has actually done. They were neither part of the freedom struggle, nor did they take part in the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement. They were nowhere during these movements. These are cowardly people."

When asked about the reports of discontent among Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs amid talks of 'Operation Tiger', he said, "Operation Tiger has been carried out by Union Home Minister Amit Shah a hundred times. Breaking political parties and their leaders demonstrates perversion of democracy." This perversion has reached its peak under the current BJP leadership. However, it will also end one day. There will be a revolt against this kind of perversion in both the state and the country, the Rajya Sabha member said.

'Operation Tiger' refers to an alleged political strategy and series of maneuvers reportedly led by the ruling Shiv Sena aimed at poaching the leaders from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT).

Raut further said, "The Union home minister remains occupied with matters other than national security. Judges go to London for what appears to be a picnic. The Election Commission (EC) functions like an agent of the BJP." The Sena (UBT) leader also said he has never seen such an "aghori" and cruel person in politics like PM Modi, and added that he comes from the same soil that produced Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

"Never before has such an 'aghori' person been born in this country's politics. Never before has someone so cruel emerged. This country has produced great leaders, such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, P V Narasimha Rao, Rajiv Gandhi, Babasaheb Ambedkar and Balasaheb Thackeray," he said.

"But when we look at Modi's entire character, it creates fear. Where has such a person come from? He comes from the same soil that produced Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb was born in Gujarat, wasn't he?" he added.