Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MLC Anil Parab on Saturday said he will file a defamation suit against Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam over what he called “fake allegations” relating to the death of party founder Bal Thackeray.
Parab said any damages awarded from the case would be donated to farmers affected by floods.
Parab also demanded that Kadam undergo a narco test and pressed for an inquiry into the 1993 case involving the death of Kadam’s wife, which he claimed had been “mysteriously closed.”
Kadam, a former state minister now with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, sparked a political storm during the party’s Dussehra rally on Thursday by alleging that Bal Thackeray’s body was kept at Matoshree, the Thackeray family residence in Bandra, for two days before his death was formally announced in November 2012.
Kadam further alleged that Uddhav Thackeray took Bal Thackeray’s fingerprints after his death and called for a narco test on both himself and Uddhav “to bring out the truth.”
Responding to the charges, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said Kadam’s remarks amounted to a betrayal of Balasaheb Thackeray’s legacy. “Making such statements is an insult to the late Shiv Sena founder,” Raut said.
Backing Kadam, Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Shirsat said there was “substance” in the claims and alleged that preparations for Bal Thackeray’s last rites had begun two days before his death was officially declared.
BJP leader Nitesh Rane, son of former chief minister Narayan Rane, also supported Kadam and alleged that Uddhav Thackeray did not allow his father to meet the ailing Sena patriarch in his final days.
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“Someone was supposed to come from Switzerland, and the death declaration was made after some papers were signed,” Rane claimed. He demanded Uddhav Thackeray clarify whether Kadam or he was lying. “The longer he stays quiet, the more he will be certifying our information,” Rane said.
Speaking to a regional news channel in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Social Justice Minister Shirsat maintained that Kadam’s allegations were not false.
“But we don’t want to speak much on it as it will give pain to the soul of Bal Thackeray,” Shirsat said.
“I was at Matoshree. Former MP Vinayak Raut (then in united Shiv Sena) had started the preparations two days before. The (Mumbai) police commissioner asked about what had happened. After this, then Shiv Sena leader Diwakar Raote removed the (funeral) arrangements made by Raut. I am taking names here,” Shirsat said.
“Allegations made by Kadam were not false. Everyone knows the truth. We don’t want more discussion over the issue. Kadam spoke so I am speaking now. We will not speak more than this because we don’t want to give pain to the soul of Bal Thackeray,” he added.
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