Thane has changed from culture centre to narcotics hub, alleges Raut; brings up Satara drug bust

Thane, Jan 5 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Monday claimed Thane, once renowned for its rich culture, was now a "narcotics hub".

In a press conference held here after the Shiv Sena (UBT)-Maharashtra Navnirman Sena alliance released its manifesto for the civic polls to be held on January 15, Raut said Thane was undergoing moral and social decline with the drug menace ruining entire generations.

"Thane, once celebrated for its rich culture, is now infamous for rampant drug trafficking. Drugs are being sold openly near schools and colleges. Who is protecting this network? What is the police doing? The state leadership is silent on this," he alleged.

Raut claimed drug connections go "right up to Satara", a reference to the Rs 115 crore mephedrone seizure in that city, which has raised a political storm.

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi has been routinely alleging that the persons connected to the drug bust are from Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP, though such allegations have been rubbished by the ruling parties.

Speaking about the civic polls here, Raut said it was an opportunity for citizens to 'wipe off" the "gaddar (traitor) tag" and reclaim the legacy of Bal Thackeray.

Ever since the split in the Bal Thackeray-founded party in June 2022, the Uddhav Thackeray faction, of which Raut is a part, refers to Shinde and those who rebelled at the time as "gaddars".

Shinde's faction is a "duplicate Shiv Sena" that has replaced "Marathi power" with money power, Raut alleged.

Accusing the ruling dispensation of using police machinery to achieve political goals and intimidate rivals, Raut asserted that "we will teach them a lesson" if the "police is kept away for 15 minutes".

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Rajan Vichare, who was present at the press conference, alleged that Rs 3500 crore allocated for development of Thane exists only on paper while the city grapples with water shortage and traffic woes.

The promised Dharmaveer Anand Dighe memorial remains a distant dream, and key projects like the metro rail are moving at snail's speed, they added.

Leaders, including MNS' Avinash Jadhav, also spoke on some Mahayuti candidates getting elected unopposed in the civic polls and called it the "biggest scam" threatening democracy.

The Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS alliance leaders appealed to civic poll voters to reject "drug patronage and builder-driven development" and restore Thane's original identity. PTI COR BNM