Amid Maharashtra crisis, Sanjay Raut to appear before ED tomorrow

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said that he would appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office tomorrow after the investigating agency declined his request to provide some extra time for his appearance in connection with a money laundering case.

The ED had sent him a second summons to appear before July 1, after he failed to appear in his first summon on Monday due to the then political crisis in Maharashtra.

Notably, Raut is being probed in connection with the re-development of Mumbai's Patra Chawl. His lawyer had sought 13-14 days time to present the documents in front of the probe agency, however, the request was declined by the Agency.

"I will be going to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office tomorrow," said the Shiv Sena leader while speaking to the media here.

Referring to Uddhav Thackeray's resignation from the post of the Chief Minister on Wednesday evening, he said that Shiv Sena will work and come to power "on our own once again".

"Shiv Sena is not born for power, power is born for Shiv Sena. This has always been Balasaheb Thackeray's mantra. We will work & come to power on our own once again," he said.

Raut said that Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar have trust in Uddhav Thackeray.

"We got emotional yesterday when Uddhav Thackeray resigned as Chief Minister. Everyone has faith in Uddhav Thackeray; people of every caste and religion support him. Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar trust him," he said.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Assembly Secretary Rajendra Bhagwat has informed all state MLAs that as per the Governor's orders the special session that was scheduled on Thursday will now not be convened.

The Floor Test that was convened by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was challenged in the Supreme Court by the Shiv Sena. The apex court, however, declined to stay the Floor Test and in its observation said that the floor of the House was the only way to settle these issues of democracy.

Minutes after the order by the top court, Thackeray addressed the people of the state via social media in which he announced his decision to step down as chief minister and as a Member of the Legislative Council.

The announcement brought an end to the political crisis that erupted in the state for over a week with a faction of Shiv Sena MLAs revolting against him for joining hands with NCP and Congress to form the government.

Meanwhile, the stage is set for the return of a BJP-led government in the state with the party, which is the single-largest party in the Maharashtra Assembly with 106 MLAs, likely to stake claim to form the government.

As Leader of the Opposition, Devendra Fadnavis is set to stake claim to the Chief Minister's post for the third time. Fadnavis, who met the party's top brass twice in a week in Delhi, said that the future course of action will be announced today.