Sanjay Raut booked for sedition over objectionable article against PM Modi

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut in big trouble as an FIR was filed against him on charges of sedition and other offences on Tuesday for allegedly writing an objectionable article on Prime Minister Modi in the party's publication, 'Saamana'.

Sanjay Raut, while commenting on the Prime Minister in his article in the 'Saamana' newspaper on December 10, said that the Prime Minister and his government are taking shortcuts from Pakistan and even attacking the country to win the elections.

'Saamana,' a newspaper in Marathi, is circulated in the state of Maharashtra, India. It was first published on January 23, 1988. The founder of Shiv Sena, Bal Thackeray, launched the paper.

The BJP's Yavatmal district coordinator, Nitin Bhutada, had lodged a complaint against him for making a statement against 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.

In the wake of a case registered against him for an alleged objectionable write-up in 'Saamana', Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut questioned the democratic rights of politicians in India. He cites recent remarks made by Amit Shah about former PM Nehru and asks if a case will be registered against him too.

"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) MP Sanjay Raut said.

Speaking in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Nehru had "accepted his mistake" regarding the ceasefire during the war with Pakistan in 1948 and taking the Kashmir issue to the United Nations.

"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.