Sharad Pawar stated they’ll endure however won’t ever deviate from the trail.
Mumbai:
Amid questioning of senior NCP chief Jayant Patil by the Enforcement Directorate in Mumbai, celebration chief Sharad Pawar on Monday hinted that the motion towards some leaders may very well be the fallout of their refusal to satisfy “expectations” of the ruling dispensation.
Mr Pawar stated they’ll endure however won’t ever deviate from the trail they’ve chosen.
He was talking to reporters in Pune on the motion taken by ED and different Central probe businesses towards some leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party.
“A possibility cannot be denied that the current dispensation has had some expectations from some 9-10 leaders of NCP. We are not ready to meet those expectations and are ready to pay the price for our stand. We will never leave the path we have chosen,” he stated in a veiled assault on the BJP-led Central authorities.
“As some people could not digest this (NCP’s stand), hence we have to suffer. But we are not worried about it,” he stated.
Notably, talking on ED summoning him, Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil had stated, as he was a part of the opposition, one must face such kind of struggling.
When requested about ED quizzing Patil, Mr Pawar stated, “I have a list of some key 10 leaders who have faced inquiry. Some of them even faced action by these agencies.” Questioning of Mr Patil has been underway at ED’s workplace in south Mumbai for greater than eight hours in a cash laundering case linked to alleged monetary irregularities within the now-bankrupt monetary companies agency IL&FS, an official stated.
“NCP leader (former home minister) Anil Deshmukh faced allegations of accepting Rs 100 crore for an educational institute and had to spend 13-14 months in jail. Later, it was revealed that the amount received was Rs 1.50 crore and not Rs 100 crore. It underscores the level of exaggeration of allegations.
“People were shocked when they first heard about such allegations. Deshmukh was defamed. It is the best example of how to misuse power,” Mr Pawar claimed.
Queried on whether the Maharashtra government favoured former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh (now retired) by revoking his suspension, Mr Pawar said, “If the state government goes deeper into the complaints and cases filed against Singh, it will be akin to the opening of Pandora’s box. One should find out how many cases are pending against Singh.” Mr Pawar stated jailed chief Nawab Malik, who belongs to NCP, stands vindicated when requested about former NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede going through the CBI probe within the Cordelia cruise ‘drug bust’ case.
“What Malik used to allege is turning out to be true. He has been harassed for speaking the truth,” he added.
Mr Deshmukh was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in December 2022 in a corruption case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after IPS officer Param Bir Singh (now retired) in March 2021 alleged that Deshmukh, then residence minister, had given a goal to law enforcement officials to gather Rs 100 crore per thirty days from eating places and bars in Mumbai.
Mr Deshmukh was arrested in November 2021 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a cash laundering case.
He is at present out on bail.
Mr Malik, a former Maharashtra minister, was arrested on February 23, 2022, beneath the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the ED in a probe linked to the actions of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides.
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