Nobody enjoys special rights in democracy? Sanjay Raut on BJP's protest against police summoning Devendra Fadnavis

In the wake of BJP's protest against the Mumbai Police recording former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis's statement in a case of alleged illegal tapping of phones, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday asked why do “some people and political parties” think of themselves as above the law and why “drama” was being staged. Raut in a post on Twitter claimed earlier that the Central agencies summoned several Maharashtra ministers and public representatives for probe into some cases out of “political vendetta”.

There are no special rights for anyone in democracy and all are equal before the law, said the Rajya Sabha member and Shiv Sena's chief spokesperson, whose party shares power with the NCP and Congress in Maharashtra. A team of the BKC Cyber Police on Sunday reached Fadnavis's residence to record his statement in connection with the phone tapping case.

The police had issued a notice to Fadnavis in this connection and BJP workers in parts of Mumbai and rest of Maharashtra on Sunday staged protest and burnt copies of the notice. A number of BJP leaders, including MLA Nitesh Rane, MLCs Prasad Lad and Pravin Darekar, also gathered outside Fadnavis's residence in south Mumbai. “Why do some people and political parties think of themselves as being above the law?

The Central agencies summoned several ministers and public representatives in Maharashtra for probe out of political vendetta and they appeared before the agencies... No one has special rights in democracy. All are equal before the law. Why this drama then?” Raut asked in a tweet in Marathi.

Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray targeted the BJP, claiming the Maha Vikas Aghadi government does not use its agencies against opponents as “campaign machineries” like the Centre does. “We just take forward the legal process. I don't want to comment more about it,”

Thackeray said when asked about instances of complaints being filed against each other by the ruling and opposition parties in Maharashtra. He also claimed that the BJP was “frustrated”, hence staging protests on various issues.