Man of courage: Congress throws weight behind Sanjay Raut

Mumbai, Aug 01: Condemning Sanjay Raut's arrest in the Patra chawl land scam case, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the only crime he has committed is that he has not been cowered down by the politics of intimidation of the BJP party.

"The only crime Sanjay Raut has committed that he has not been cowered down by the politics of intimidation of the BJP party. He is a man of conviction and courage. We are with Sanjay Raut," Adhir tweeted.

"They (BJP) want an 'Opposition-mukt' parliament, that's why the action against Sanjay Raut. We'll raise issues of inflation, Gujarat hooch tragedy in Parliament. 'Op Keechad' by them (BJP) in Jharkhand will also be raised today," said Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge.

The ED arrested Sanjay Raut late in Sunday night in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of a Mumbai 'chawl' after conducting a search at his residence, during which Rs 11.5 lakh in cash was seized.

The Rajya Sabha MP of the Sena, led by former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, will be produced before a special PMLA court in Mumbai later in the day, where the Enforcement Directorate will seek his custody.

The ED probe pertains to alleged financial irregularities in the redevelopment of Patra 'chawl' and related financial property transactions involving his wife and alleged associates.