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.