Sena’s Sanjay Raut says despite past differences, ED action on CM Uddhav Thackeray’s kin has brought MVA coalition closer 

Closing ranks, NCP MP Supriya Sule speaks of strong ties between Thackeray and Pawar families

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Mumbai: Admitting that there might have been some differences within the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government, Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday argued that the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) recent raids on Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray brother-in-law and other MVA leaders has brought all three coalition partners closer while making the MVA government even stronger.

He said this while speaking to newspersons at Nagpur during the Sena’s voter outreach drive ‘Shiv Sampark Abhiyan’. The program is aimed at bolstering Sena presence in the Vidarbha and Marathwada regions and putting up a direct challenge to its saffron rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Replying to queries, Raut remarked, “The ED’s actions have made the MVA even stronger. There may have been some rifts in the MVA and doubts were being cast to this effect…but the flagrant misuse of central agencies on part of the Centre has brought the three parties closer than ever.”

The ED on Tuesday attached immovable assets worth Rs 6.45 crore of a company owned by Thackeray’s brother-in-law Shridhar Patankar in connection with a money laundering investigation.

Lambasting the BJP, Raut questioned the burgeoning assets of BJP leaders and the apparent reluctance of central agencies to probe them.

The senior Sena leader further added, “You (BJP) contest elections by spending thousands of crores of rupees. Where does all this money come from? While the so-called ‘paperwork’ given by the BJP leaders to the Central probe agencies against non-BJP party leaders is considered as cast-iron evidence, no action is taken against a BJP when we (MVA parties or other non-BJP outfits) provide documents and evidence.”

Raut added that the BJP frequently raised question marks on the allegedly illicit assets of MVA leaders and framed them using probe agencies. The Sena leader said that the MVA did not harbour malafide intentions unlike the BJP.

He further added, “All this (alleged abuse of central agencies) will not last long. The truth will come out slowly. We (MVA) do not grab anyone’s collar and imprison them. When we take action against any political leaders, we conduct investigations in a fair and proper manner.”

The Sena MP further disclosed that he had a telephonic conservation with the Chief Minister following the raid on the former’s kin, but refused to reveal the details of his conversation to the press.

The MVA leadership has accused the BJP of attempting to destabilize the ruling MVA government in Maharashtra by unleashing central agencies against its leaders. It began with the ED and the I-T department targeting ex-Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and other Ministers of the MVA government like NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, NCP Minister Hasan Mushrif, Sena Minister Anil Parab and the more recently arrested NCP Minister Nawab Malik, besides the raids on other Sena leaders like corporator Yashwant Jadhav and his family.

Meanwhile, NCP Lok Sabha MP from Baramati Supriya Sule came out in solidarity of the Thackeray family by remarking that the Pawar family stood firmly behind them. Sule is the daughter of NCP president Sharad Pawar. “Relations between the Pawar and the Thackeray families go back for the last 55 years. NCP chief Sharad Pawar and the late Sena founder Bal Thackeray were firm friends”, added Sule.

Speaking to newspersons in Delhi, the NCP MP chided Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP for their ‘selective targeting’ of non-BJP party leaders by unleashing central agencies against them.

She further said that the raids by central agencies on Thackeray’s brother-in-law and other MVA leaders would have “no impact on the stability of the MVA alliance government.”

Expressing concern on the rising prices of essential commodities in the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Sule said that the BJP-ruled Centre, instead of taking all opposition parties along with it to resolve these critical issues, was busy letting loose probe agencies and acting with extreme prejudice.

Sule further remarked, “In at least eight-ten cases, such raids have been pre-ordained with BJP leaders announcing that so-and-so minister would be up for an ED probe and a few days later, that minister would be interrogated by a central agency. This clearly means that these agencies are not independent organizations. This situation is extremely worrisome.”