Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut Faces Sedition Charges For 'Objectionable Article' On PM Modi

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut is facing significant legal trouble after an FIR was lodged against him for alleged sedition and other violations. The charges stem from an article he purportedly wrote about Prime Minister Modi in the party's publication, 'Saamana'.

In his article in the 'Saamana' newspaper on December 10, Sanjay Raut accused the Prime Minister and his government of resorting to tactics similar to those used by Pakistan and even attacking the country in order to secure election victories.

'Saamana' is a Marathi newspaper that is distributed in Maharashtra. It was initially released on January 23, 1988, by Bal Thackeray, the founder of Shiv Sena.

The Yavatmal district coordinator of the BJP, Nitin Bhutada, filed a complaint against him for his remarks about the Prime Minister in the 'Saamana' newspaper.

An FIR was then lodged against Sanjay Raut under sections 153 A, 505 B and 124 A (sedition) of the IPC.

Following a complaint filed against him for an alleged controversial article in 'Saamana', Sanjay Raut has raised concerns about the democratic rights of politicians in India. He has pointed to recent comments made by Amit Shah regarding former PM Nehru and questioned whether a similar case will be filed against him as well.

"We have respect for PM Narendra Modi... Amit Shah made remarks on former PM Jawaharlal Nehru a few days earlier. Will a case be registered against him? We have democracy in this country and many politicians give statements. If people register cases against it, then they don't have the right to say that they fought against an emergency," Shiv Sena (UBT) Raut said.

In his address to the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that Nehru had acknowledged his error in the ceasefire decision and taking the Kashmir issue to the United Nations during the 1948 war with Pakistan.

"After the experience of the United Nations, I have come to the conclusion that no satisfactory results can be expected from there. I considered the ceasefire decision a good one, but we could not deal with this matter well. We should have had more thoughts on the ceasefire and taken it late. These are the mistakes of the past," the Home Minister quoted Nehru as saying. 

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