Sena has no place for faithful party workers: Rane

Mumbai, June 22: Maharashtra Revenue Minister Narayan Rane today charged of Shiv Sena with having no respect for faithful and ideal workers had proved right with the party not renominating veteran leader Pramod Navalkar for the Mumbai graduates Legislative council seat which he held for over 30 years.

Addressing a press conference in support of Congress candidate Amarjit Singh Manhas for the June 24 biennial election, Mr Rane alleged that even Mr Navalkar realised that his time was up and himself withdrew from the race.

Mr Rane charged that Dr Sawant was in the fray only because of his closeness to party executive president Uddhav Thackeray. ''He joined the Sena when the saffron alliance was in power in 1997.

Everyone in the Sena knows that he does nothing without money, Money politics has come to stay in the Shiv Sena,'' Mr Rane alleged.

Taking a dig at his former party and citing example of Khopkar (the corporator who was allegedly killed by the party for cross voting in the Thane Municipal corporation), Mr Rane said,''everybody knows what fate Shiv Sainiks had met if they betrayed the party.

But, today deserters are being called back''.

To a question on what makes him believe that Congress would wrest the Mumbai graduates legislative council seat from the Shiv Sena for the first time, Mr Rane said, ''It is because I am now in the Congress. With the exception of Srivardhan assembly by-poll, I have helped Congress to win all elections since the last one year.

The win would be replicated now too''.

Mr Rane said the Lokadhikar Samiti activists (a Shiv Sena affiliated association which works for providing jobs to sons of the soil) were keen that one of their senior members be nominated in place of Navalkar for the Mumbai graduates seat. ''They are unhappy that a rank outsider like Dr Sawant has been nominated. I am confident that the Lokadhikar Samiti will work for the congress nominee who has good record of work in social, educational areas of the city'', he added.

Mr Rane said he would expose the shiv sena which is fighting to retain its bastion of Mumbai Municipality in the next elections, at the ''appropriate time'' . ''If we have to make Mumbai a world class city, it is neccessary to pull shiv sena out of power in the civic body'', he said.

UNI