Shiv Sena chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut on Sunday expressed sympathy with ex-navy officer Madan Sharma who was assaulted for sharing a cartoon mocking Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
The 62-year-old was assaulted by a group of Shiv Sena workers led by Kamlesh Kadam - the shakha pramukh of Shiv Sena’s Kandivali unit in Mumbai. Raut, however, defended the government saying that those who attacked did not ask them.
“When you speak something and indulge in mudslinging and people become angry. If someone has attacked, they did not ask us. Why associate the government with this? I have sympathy for the person who was attacked and I protest against it,” Raut said.
Earlier, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also spoke to Sharma and expressed his disappointment. Singh said that attacks on ex-servicemen were unacceptable and deplorable.
Taking a dig at the Union Minister, Raut said that the Defence Minister has never called up families of ex-servicemen who have been attacked in Yogi Adityanath’s Uttar Pradesh. The Shiv Sena MP also stated that Maharashtra is a big state and something like this can happen to anyone.
“Maharashtra is a big state. Something like this can happen to anyone. Are you aware of ex-servicemen who have been attacked in UP? Defence Minister Rajnath Singh never called them,” Raut claimed.
However, he said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government believes that no innocent person should be attacked. “The law is always respected in Maharashtra. The accused were arrested immediately, irrespective of the party they were associated with,” Raut added.
On September 12, Mumbai Police arrested Shiv Sena leader Kamlesh Kadam and five others after an FIR was registered. However, they were released on bail later. The opposition has demanded strict action against those who attacked the ex-navy officer.
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