NEW DELHI: Sacked Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam on Monday alleged that Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut was the kingpin of “Khichdi scam” in which money meant to feed poor migrants during the peak of Covid-19 pandemic was looted. Nirupam claimed that Raut took bribes through his family members and business partners from the accused company Sahyadri Refreshments and demanded that Enforcement Directorate should arrest such people.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) accused Nirupam of maligning the image of Uddhav Thackeray’s party and questioned why was the sacked Congress leader silent for 4 years.The party said that Nirupam had learnt the culture of BJP too soon as the BJP was the only party that tried to malign people’s image by keeping the family forward.
Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey said: “He is intentionally trying to malign the image of our leaders like Amol Kirthikar and Sanjay Raut when the elections are going to be held on May 20 in Mumbai. He is raising a four-year-old issue. When Congress expelled him and he was roaming for a ticket, he asked every party for this and when nothing seemed to be working, he is now conspiring to malign the image of Shiv Sena.”
Nirupam was expelled by the Congress last weekend after he unleashed an all-out offensive against grand old party’s top leadership for surrendering Mumbai seats to Maha Vikas Aghadi ally Shiv Sena (UBT).
Accusing Sanjay Raut of masterminding the scam, Nirupam said that BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had awarded Sahyadri Refreshments a contract to provide 300 gms ‘khichdi’ at Rs 35/plate for the stranded migrants at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.
“In turn, Sahyadri Refreshments gave a sub-contract to another party which would supply 100 gms ‘khichdi’ at Rs 16/plate. This meant that 200 gms of ‘khichdi’ intended for the poor, stranded, migrants was ‘stolen’ by Sanjay Raut and his partners,” claimed Nirupam.
The multiple cheques issued by Sahyadri Refreshments, amounting to around Rs one crore were deposited into Raut’s daughter and his brother, as well as a business partner’s bank accounts on different dates between May 2020 – January 2021, Nirupam stated.
(With inputs from agencies)
The Shiv Sena (UBT) accused Nirupam of maligning the image of Uddhav Thackeray’s party and questioned why was the sacked Congress leader silent for 4 years.The party said that Nirupam had learnt the culture of BJP too soon as the BJP was the only party that tried to malign people’s image by keeping the family forward.
Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey said: “He is intentionally trying to malign the image of our leaders like Amol Kirthikar and Sanjay Raut when the elections are going to be held on May 20 in Mumbai. He is raising a four-year-old issue. When Congress expelled him and he was roaming for a ticket, he asked every party for this and when nothing seemed to be working, he is now conspiring to malign the image of Shiv Sena.”
Nirupam was expelled by the Congress last weekend after he unleashed an all-out offensive against grand old party’s top leadership for surrendering Mumbai seats to Maha Vikas Aghadi ally Shiv Sena (UBT).
Accusing Sanjay Raut of masterminding the scam, Nirupam said that BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had awarded Sahyadri Refreshments a contract to provide 300 gms ‘khichdi’ at Rs 35/plate for the stranded migrants at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.
“In turn, Sahyadri Refreshments gave a sub-contract to another party which would supply 100 gms ‘khichdi’ at Rs 16/plate. This meant that 200 gms of ‘khichdi’ intended for the poor, stranded, migrants was ‘stolen’ by Sanjay Raut and his partners,” claimed Nirupam.
The multiple cheques issued by Sahyadri Refreshments, amounting to around Rs one crore were deposited into Raut’s daughter and his brother, as well as a business partner’s bank accounts on different dates between May 2020 – January 2021, Nirupam stated.
(With inputs from agencies)