Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut dismissed speculations about his meeting with former Maharashtra chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis. The meeting between the two, that took place in a luxury hotel, has been raising a lot political curiosity.
The two have been embroiled in a bitter political war since the allies parted ways after the Maharashtra elections, with the political differences intensifying even further since Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death by suicide.
According to a NDTV report, Raut confirmed that the meeting was regarding an interview for the Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece 'Saamana', which is headed by him.
“Devendra Fadnavis is not our enemy. We have worked with him. I met Fadnavis for his interview for Saamna. This was a pre-decided meeting. Even Uddhav Thackeray was aware of this,” Raut said quoted as saying after the meeting.
“Is it a crime to meet Fadnavis, who is a former chief minister and now the Opposition leader in the state Assembly? We have ideological differences but we are not enemies," Raut added.
He reportedly said that he had interviewed NCP leader Sharad Pawar, and had announced interviews with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and Home Minister Amit Shah as well.
In a tweet, Maharashtra BJP chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye also said, "Raut wanted to interview Fadnavis for (the Sena mouthpiece) Saamana and this meeting was to discuss how to go about it.”
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