New Delhi [India], August 12 : Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday hit out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying the opposition was not afraid of him and adding, "Now it is your turn to be afraid."
Raut was responding to the government's allegation that the opposition was preventing the Home Minister from making a statement in Parliament. He rejected the charge, saying the opposition wants multiple issues to be discussed together.
"They are saying that they are ready to speak to the Home Minister. They have also said that the Home Minister will discuss the matter," Raut said.
Raut said there were two issues that the opposition wanted Parliament to take up: allegations concerning the theft and loot of offerings at the Ram Temple and allegations regarding the use of pellet guns against children at Jantar Mantar.
"Both these issues have been disrupting Parliament for the last 15 days. So, you cannot leave one issue and take up the other. Both issues must be discussed," he said.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader also directly challenged Shah, invoking the Home Minister's public image as a strong leader and comparing it with that of former Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
"Home Minister considers himself to be a man like Sardar Patel. If you consider yourself a strong man, you should not be afraid," Raut said.
Raut added that Opposition leaders had faced arrests, police action and cases in the past but had not been intimidated.
"We are not afraid of you, and we never will be," he said, before adding, "Now it is your turn to be afraid."
Raut also responded to remarks concerning the Jharkhand situation and the NEET controversy. Referring to statements made by Dharmendra Pradhan, Raut said the matter should be dealt with by the state government and those involved in the protests.
"The Jharkhand Chief Minister and the protesters will handle the situation there," he said.
On the NEET controversy, Raut said it was a separate matter and referred to the protests by young people, saying they had taken their grievances to the streets and even reached the Assembly.
"And you were forced to resign over the NEET scam. That is a separate issue. There, the youth came out on the streets and even reached the Assembly," Raut said.
He added that governments were in place to deal with such matters and that the respective government was looking into the issue.
Raut also reacted to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's remarks on Amit Shah, predicting that the Home Minister would eventually face pressure to resign.
"Amit Shah will have to resign. In the future, you will see that a situation will arise where Amit Shah will have to resign. Just wait and see. It is not going to be that easy," Raut added.