Amid ED raids on former Maharashtra minister Hasan Mushrif, NCP and Sena allege misuse of power
As the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at offices and premises of NCP leader and former minister Hasan Mushriff Wednesday, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party said the searches were part of the government’s strategy to target the leaders of Opposition parties, especially those who speak against it.
According to sources, the raids on Mushrif are being conducted in connection with the alleged Rs 100 crore scam in the Appasaheb Nalawade sugar factory.
“We have seen in the country 90-95 per cent of the ED raids are conducted on leaders from Opposition parties. This trend is also there in Maharashtra where Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis himself said that they have an ‘ED Sarkar’ at the helm. ‘ED Sarkar’ means “Eknath and Devendra Sarkar,” said NCP MP Supriya Sule.
Sule said though she has not spoken to Hasan Mushrif yet, but he will cooperate with the ED officials. “The guests are at his home… I am sure he will extend full cooperation to them,” she said.
Alleging misuse of power, Sule said instead of targeting Opposition leaders, the government should focus its attention on tackling issues like unemployment and inflation. “The people of the state will benefit and sing the praise of the government,” she said.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said the raid on Mushriff highlights the way the government is misusing the investigating agencies to target the opposition leaders. “Earlier, Anil Deshmukh, Nawab Malik and myself were targetted by the government. And, now they are conducting raids on the NCP leader. All this reflects the misuse of power and attempts to muzzle the voices of the opposition leaders,” he said.
After ED raids on NCP leader Hasan Mushrif, party points to RSS statement on Muslims
Following raids by the Enforcement Directorate on its leader Hasan Mushrif, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said Wednesday that Muslim leaders were being targeted despite RSS’s statement that members of the community have nothing to fear.
The central agency carried out raids at several premises linked to Mushrif. These came reportedly as part of ED’s investigation into the alleged irregularities in the purchase of a cooperative sugar mill in the state’s Kolhapur district.
On his part, Mushrif alleged in a video the raids were being conducted with a political motive.
“RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat recently said in an interview Muslims have nothing to fear in India and barely within 24 hours of his statement the home of a prominent Muslim leader and former minister of the NCP is raided by ED in Pune and Kolhapur,” said NCP chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase.
Tapase said the BJP has been constantly using central agencies against the leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in a bid to weaken the alliance and woo its leaders into its fold. “Is it not ironical that some leaders of the BJP make press statements about future ED raids and voila it happens just like that,” the NCP spokesperson said.
“What happened to all the allegations against MLAs and MPs who are now backing the Shinde-Fadnavis government? The BJP had alleged corruption by these leaders. Has the ED or IT closed its investigation and given them acquittal as nobody in the BJP seems to talk about it anymore or is it a matter of quid pro quo questioned,” he asked.
