Sanjay Raut has been appointed chief spokesperson of the Shiv Sena.
Sanjay Raut, caught on camera using an expletive in his tirade against actor Kangana Ranaut, has been appointed chief spokesperson of the Shiv Sena.
The Rajya Sabha member has, over the past few days, lashed out at Kangana Ranaut over her comments comparing Mumbai to Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and has even said she should stay out of Mumbai.
Sanjay Raut, also the executive editor of Shiv Sena mouthpiece ''Saamana'', will lead a team of spokespersons that includes Lok Sabha MPs Arvind Sawant and Dhairyasheel Mane and Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi.
Sanjay Raut has not apologised for flinging an abusive term at Kangana Ranaut but he conceded in an interview that his choice of words could have been better.
"I may have made a mistake," Sanjay Raut told NDTV.
"Kangana also makes these mistakes, we have seen several times," he added, apparently referring to the 33-year-old actor's comments about feeling unsafe in Mumbai.
"I said if you don't have faith in Mumbai police and administration, if you call our police mafia, then why do you stay here?"
Mr Raut also hit out at the BJP government at the centre for providing Y-Plus category security to Kangana Ranaut, which means she will have CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) commandos protecting her 24X7.
"If the centre thinks a person who talks in derogatory language about the Maharashtra of Chhatrapati Shivaji and Mumbai of Mumba Devi, if it thinks it is right to give her security, so be it. If the National Commission for Women thinks such a woman should get security in this country, it is up to them. But the people of Maharashtra are watching," Mr Raut said.
He also challenged Kangana Ranaut to produce evidence if she knew anything about the Sushant Singh Rajput case.
The actor's row with the Maharashtra government erupted over her criticism of the handling of the Sushant Singh Rajput investigation and her remark that she felt unsafe in the city. In a fierce backlash, Sena and NCP leaders including state Home Minister Anil Deskhmukh said she should stay out of Mumbai if she felt that way.
Ms Ranaut then doubled down on her offensive, wondering why "Mumbai seemed like PoK".
She has since faced protests and threats from the Sena.