A Congress turncoat inducted into the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi ministry at the expense of old party loyalists is making waves as 1994 Saamna front page linking him to Dawood surfaces
Abdul Sattar was sworn in as a minister in Uddhav Thackeray's cabinet on December 30. Pic/ Suresh Karkera
A lot of what the Shiv Sena has stood for and been vocal about in the decades of its existence seems to all be returning to haunt the state's saffron party. The latest is a 1994 front-page report in Saamna, the Sena's mouthpiece, that had allegedly blamed Congress turncoat and newly minted cabinet minister Abdul Sattar of having close ties with the Dawood Ibrahim gang. Last week, Sattar, a Sena MLA, was made cabinet minister in Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray-led government.
A day after the cabinet expansion was announced, the 25-year-old Saamna article went viral on social media platforms. Published on June 11, 1994, the article titled 'Shaikh Sattarche Dawood Gangshi Nikatche Sambandh' (Shaikh has close links with Dawood gang) made headlines in the paper after a Sena candidate lost the local council elections to the Congress.
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Sattar, who represents the Sillod Assembly constituency in Aurangabad district, quit the Congress in 2019 after the Congress denied him a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections. The Marathwada leader joined the Sena immediately after and contested the Assembly polls on a Sena ticket. He has now been inducted as a cabinet minister in the Thackeray led tri-party government.
His promotion has, however, not gone down too well with the Sena's leaders and grass-root workers. A senior party functionary called Sattar's promotion in the party a wrong precedent. "In politics, people keep changing parties. Induction of leaders from other parties is fine. But promoting newcomers in such a short span, especially at the cost of loyal party workers, is not a healthy sign," the Sena functionary added.
The leader further gave an example of MLA Sanjay Shirsat who represents Aurangabad West Assembly segment. The MLA is with the party for 35 years and has been a corporator twice in the past. "He could have been a better choice if the party wanted to strengthen its position in Aurangabad and surrounding areas of the Marathwada belt," the Sena leader quipped.
'No merit in allegations'
mid-day tried to reach Sattar for a comment. However, his personal assistant answered saying, "Sir is busy in a meeting. I will convey your message to the minister and respond." The cabinet minister did not respond to calls made to him thereafter.
Abdul Sattar at Matoshree for a meeting with Udhav in August this year. Pic/ Bipin Kokate
Sena spokespersons Neelam Gorhe, Manisha Kayande and Priyanka Chaturvedi too were unavailable for comment. However, a senior Sena functionary on the condition of anonymity said, "After the news was published in Saamna, I am sure an inquiry would have been initiated in the case by the then government and police. Had there been any merit in the news, certainly some action would have been seen against Sattar. But the leader has been active in politics for over 25 years. This clearly indicates that there was no merit in the allegations."
Aslam Shaikh's promotion questioned, too
Besides Sattar, social media was also flooded with messages asking Sena leadership to explain its views on having Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh as a minister in the cabinet, especially after he opposed the hanging of 1993 bomb blast convict Yakub Memon. In fact, Saamna, in one of its editorials, had attacked those who sought leniency for Memon. "Sympathisers with the 1993 Mumbai serial blast convict should be charged with treason," it has said, and referred those arguing against Memon's capital punishment as "enemies of the country."
While Shaikh admitted to having signed the letter, along with other Congress MLAs from the community, demanding leniency towards Memon, he questioned the timing of his letter being made viral. "This is being done by a particular section of the people with an intention to create a rift and disharmony in society," Shaikh said hinting at the BJP.
Pointing at Sattar's induction into the Sena while it was in an alliance with the BJP, Shaikh said, "Why did those (BJP) who are raking up an old issue and making the letter viral, not question the Sena before the Assembly polls?"
The page 1 report that appeared in Saamna
He added, "Some people from the opposition are jealous of our sustained rise in politics. Especially now that I have been made a cabinet minister, those jealous are so desperate that they are leaving no stone unturned to malign my image."
1994
Year the Saamna article, dated June 11, was printed
25
No. of years Abdul Sattar has been in politics
25
No. of years since the Saamna article was published
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