A day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached assets worth ₹11.15 crore belonging to the wife of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, National Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.
Mr. Pawar called on Mr. Modi along with NCP’s Lok Sabha member from Lakshwadeep, P.P. Mohammad Faizal, who raised issues relating to his constituency.
“On what basis was action taken against Sanjay Raut? This is injustice. What was the provocation? Just because he is making some statements and criticisms does not mean action should be taken against him. What was the need,” the NCP chief told a press conference.
“It is our duty to bring to the Prime Minister’s notice the injustice being done to a journalist and a senior Parliamentarian,” he added.
The NCP Supremo said that apart from Central agencies targeting the Sena leader, he also mentioned the Maharashtra government’s proposal regarding nominations to the State Legislative Council not being cleared by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari.
On Tuesday, the ED attached assets worth more than ₹11.15 crore in the name of Mr. Raut’s wife, two of his associates in a money-laundering case linked to certain land deals.
Mr. Rawat, who often acts a bridge between the NCP and the Congress in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), has been one of the most vocal critics of the Modi government.
CBI custody
Hours before the NCP chief’s meeting with the Prime Minister, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had taken custody of his NCP colleague and former Maharashtra Home Minister, Anil Deshmukh.
The CBI team took his custody from the Arthur Road Prison in central Mumbai with corruption allegations raised against him by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.
Responding to a query if such action by the Central investigation agencies’ against MVA leaders would affect the stability of the ruling coalition, Mr. Pawar said, “The government will complete its entire term. The MVA will also return to power in the elections in 2024”.
To a separate query on reports on growing demands that he should take over as the new chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), Mr. Pawar said he was not interested in the post, and the largest party in the Opposition was the “natural choice” to lead the coalition.
He also answered about the presence of Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari at a dinner hosted by him on Tuesday evening.
“I had invited MLAs from Maharashtra, who are in Delhi for a training workshop in Parliament, over dinner. Several of them had issues related to roads in their constituencies, so I requested Mr. Gadkari to come over to hear out their grievances,” Mr. Pawar said.
