MUMBAI: Hours after Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut posted a viral video showed assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar in a confrontation near Alibag and accused him of being involved in a land dispute , the MLA on Saturday said that he had nothing to do with the incident and was only advising two quarrelling locals to resolve their issues amicably.
Raut on Saturday posted the video with the text, “Where did these fisticuffs happen with the assembly speaker and why? Rahul Narwekar ran away from the place. Will he tell us or should I reveal it?”
State Congress chief Harshawardhan Sapkal posted the same video on X and alleged that Narwekar was carrying out the work of surveying agricultural land at Mhatroli in Alibag taluka without taking local farmers into confidence. Due to the opposition from local farmers, Narvekar literally had to flee, he said.
In the video, the villagers are heard asking why Narwekar was on their property when they were away for a family function. One of the persons is roughed up by the villagers, while Narwekar is heard telling them not to fight. The villagers also ask Narwekar what he thinks of himself.
Narwekar stays in Colaba and represents the Colaba assembly constituency. The Narwekar family has land in Alibag taluka of Raigad district.
Narwekar said: “The day before I was going to my farm I saw two farmers were in a fight. I advised them to resolve their dispute peacefully and left for my work. I have nothing to do with their dispute. I request that my name not be linked to the incident.” A farmer in Alibag confirmed this in the video.
The assembly speaker is no stranger to controversy. During the Mumbai civic elections, Raut had tweeted a video of him threatening former MLC Haribhau Rathod over a dispute on voting day outside a polling centre in Byculla. However, there was no official complaint made by Rathod. The Narwekar family also faced complaints from an independent candidate who was forced to withdraw, and the Sena (UBT) held a press conference on this.
State Congress chief spokesperson, Atul Londhe said, “We have seen very often that Rahul Narwekar is using his status for his personal gains. There are videos of him not allowing civic poll candidates to contest in the Colaba area. He had also threatened a candidate and forced him to withdraw. This is the third incident in the span of two months. Misbehaviour, thy name is BJP.’’