Mumbai: The Shiv Sena today slammed Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil for stating that he will ask the Enforcement Directorate to investigate the alleged transfer of money to bribe voters in the upcoming Assembly bypoll in Kolhapur, saying that if the BJP makes a “Ghar Ghar ED” call, the people will have to “rebel.”
In an editorial in the party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, the Sena wondered if the ED should probe voters in the states from where BJP won elections recently.
“Chandrakant Patil has devised a clever scheme to have voters investigated by the ED. People will have to rebel if the phrase ‘Har Har Modi, Ghar Ghar Modi’ is combined with ‘Har Har ED, Ghar Ghar ED,”according to the Sena.
On April 12, a bypoll for the Kolhapur North assembly constituency will be held. After the death of sitting Congress MLA Chandrakant Jadhav in December, the seat became vacant.
The BJP has fielded Satyajit Kadam, while the Congress has given the ticket to Jadhav’s wife Jayashree.
On Sunday, Patil said he will write to the Enforcement Directorate to investigate the alleged transfer of money into the accounts of a large number of voters from Kolhapur north.
Notably, the Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday attached properties linked to Sena MP and Saamana’s executive editor Sanjay Raut.
The Central agency has previously arrested two ministers from the MVA administration – Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik – on money laundering charges, while the transactions of several Sena MLAs, who lead the MVA government, are also being investigated.
The Shiv Sena further said that calling voters “corrupt” is an insult to the people of Kolhapur, which is recognised for its progressive attitude and traditional values.
“The BJP should know the history of Kolhapur and its people before threatening them,” Shiv Sena said, adding that the ED will have to open a separate office in Kolhapur if it were to probe voters.
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