Waze is currently in NIA custody for its alleged role in the death of Thane-based businessman Mansukh Hiran.
Speaking to a television channel, Raut said the Waze episode taught some lessons to the government led by Uddhav Thackeray.
“When there was a plan to reintegrate Sachin Waze into the Maharashtra police force, I informed some leaders that it could create problems for us. His behavior and working style could create some problems for the government,” Raut said.
The Rajya Sabha member further said that he cannot reveal the names of those leaders, but “they are aware of my conversation with them.”
Raut said he has been a journalist for a few decades and therefore knows about Waze.
A person is not bad, but sometimes a particular situation makes him that way, he said.
“This whole incident of Waze activities and controversies thereafter taught the MVA government a lesson. It was good in a way that it happened and it taught us some lessons,” said the senior spokesperson for the Sena.
On Sunday, Raut had spoken out against the state government for not having a “damage control” mechanism in the wake of corruption allegations against Maharashtra’s Interior Minister Anil Deshmukh.
Raut had also called Deshmukh an “accidental” interior minister, saying he got the job because other high-level leaders had refused to take office.
In a sharp response, Chief Deputy Minister Ajit Pawar said leaders should not play “spoilers” in the coalition government and said there is no need for such “unwarranted” comments.
Raut, however, clarified his statement against Deshmukh on Monday and called him a “gentleman.”
“He must have gone through many problems and difficulties while managing a crucial portfolio like the Interior Ministry. I even spoke with him and told him that he would face a lot of criticism,” said the Sena leader.
Waze, a rendezvous specialist, was arrested by the NIA earlier this month for his alleged role in placing an explosives-laden van near the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani in South Mumbai on February 25.
Hiran, who was the owner of the truck, was found dead in a stream in Thane a few days later.
Waze is said to be the main defendant in Hiran’s death, and the NIA says it tried to destroy evidence that could have led to his involvement.
(With PTI inputs)
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