Amid Raut row, swift attack-defence on Devendra Fadnavis-Munna Yadav meeting breaks out

After the President of Maharashtra Congress Committee Balasaheb Thorat accused Devendra Fadnavis of meeting an underworld don, Munna Yadav, at his residence Varsha, the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra took to Twitter and defended himself.

Fadnavis said that Munna Yadav was a legitimately-elected corporator from Nagpur and he has never given "patronage" to the underworld in his tenure. Fadnavis further questioned the Congress' links with Karim Lala in his tweet.

Read: HUGE: Outspoken Sanjay Raut retracts his remarks on Indira Gandhi after Congress fury

This surfaced as Sanjay Raut made controversial comments about former PM Indira Gandhi's link with the underworld on Thursday morning. Talking about the past influence of the underworld over Mumbai, Sanjay Raut claimed that the underworld decided who will be the city's commissioner and in the state secretariat. Moreover, he claimed that the entire secretariat would meet don Haji Mastan when he was in town. On Thursday, after coming under pressure from coalition partners of Shiv Sena, Sanjay Raut withdrew his statement. 

Read: Cong's Abhishek Singhvi Blasts 'deplorable' Sanjay Raut Claim; Targets Saamna & Sena Past

Balasaheb Thorat, after Raut's withdrawal, took to Twitter and warned him against making any such comment in the future. Thorat, in a series of tweets, hailed the former PM's contribution to the developments in India. He also targetted the former Maharashtra CM, Devendra Fadbnavis and said that it was Fadnavis who had connections with the underworld.

Read: CONTROVERSIAL: Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut Claims 'Indira Gandhi Met With Don Karim Lala'

Sanjay Raut's statement on Indira Gandhi

Talking about Indira Gandhi's involvement with the underworld dons in Mumbai, Raut said, "They (underworld) used to decide who will be Mumbai's police commissioner and who will sit in Mantralaya (state secretariat)," Raut said. He added, "When (underworld don) Haji Mastan came to Mantralaya, the entire secretariat would come down to see him. Indira Gandhi used to meet Karim Lala in Pydhonie (in south Mumbai)".

He later wrote the following:

Read: Sanjay Vs Sanjay: Furious Nirupam Hammers Raut For Saying Indira Gandhi Met Gangsters