Sharad Pawar affirmed that the government of Maha Vikas Aghadi led by Uddhav Thackeray is stable (Archive)
Mumbai:
Confident that any alleged attempt by the BJP to overthrow the Maharashtra government will be unsuccessful, the head of the CPN, Sharad Pawar, has claimed that the Maha Vikas Aghadi dispensation led by Uddhav Thackeray is stable and will continue to rule the state.
He also criticized the action of the Directorate of Execution (ED) against the leaders of the ruling alliance and their families as “abuse of authority.”
“It’s been a year (since the Thackeray-led MVA government took office) … they (BJP) had to overthrow the government in two months, then they had to do it in six months, then in eight months. But it won’t happen. nothing, “Pawar told the PTI news agency in an interview.
“It is a stable government and it will continue,” he said.
The MVA government, made up of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, completed a year last month. Throughout this period, various BJP leaders have been saying that the government will collapse, citing ideological differences between the alliance partners.
BJP and Shiv Sena had contested the 2019 assembly elections together, but their alliance failed over the issue of the chief minister position.
It was Sharad Pawar who is said to have later brought together Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress to form the MVA government.
The Maratha stalwart, who has been the prime minister of Maharashtra four times and has also been a union minister at the Center in the past, is seen as the guiding force in the operation of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in the state.
When asked about the ED notice by Shiv Sena leader and Saamana editor Sanjay Raut’s wife, Varsha, Sharad Pawar said: “This is an abuse of authority.”
The ED had summoned Varsha Raut for questioning in the PMC Bank money laundering case of more than Rs 4,300. He is now expected to appear before the central investigative agency on January 5 after skipping the subpoena three times.
Sharad Pawar said: “They even tried to tell me once, but then they withdrew. He wasn’t even a member of the bank and he didn’t have any account with that bank.”
Last year, the Emergency Department registered a criminal case with the Maharashtra Sahakari Cooperative Bank (MSCB) of several crore and the role of Sharad Pawar, her nephew Ajit Pawar and others had come under the agency’s scanner.
The ED did not finally summon Sharad Pawar, but the NCP chairman had insisted at the time that he visit the investigative agency’s office. He later abandoned the plan after state police asked him not to go ahead to avoid a possible public order situation.
Shiv Sena has also been alleging that central investigative agencies were unfairly targeting their leaders.
Former BJP leader Eknath Khadse, who recently joined Sharad Pawar’s NCP, was also subpoenaed by the ED for questioning in connection with a money laundering case linked to a land deal in Pune.
Last month, the Emergency Department raided premises linked to Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik in connection with a money laundering case.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated channel.)
.
