NCP Chief Sharad Pawar said he is not surprised by the ED case and said that it was done as he was receiving huge response to his rallies.
Mumbai– Hours after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a case against him and others in the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam case, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said that he is not “surprised” had there not been such an action against him given the “huge” response he received during his poll campaign in Maharashtra.
Sharad Pawar also “thanked” the central agency for naming him in the case relating to the bank of which he “is not a member and was not involved in any kind of decision-making”.
“Even If they have filed a case against me too, I welcome it. I would have been surprised had such action not been taken against me after the kind of response I receive during my visits to various districts of the state.”
The former Union minister, however, said he will continue with his campaigning for the October 21 assembly polls in Maharashtra. Pawar, who initially appeared clueless about his name figuring in the ED’s case, said he has not received any notice yet.
The NCP party dismissed it as political propaganda. “It is aimed at defaming opposition leaders ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls,” said NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik.
Party leader Dhananjay Munde said efforts were being made to bedevil Pawar given the “huge” response he was receiving in the poll-bound state and the same had made the ruling BJP “fidgety”. Taking to Twitter, Munde said the “time will change”.
The Maharashtra Congress takes a jibe at the Modi government, saying the ED is being used against opposition leaders to ensure the “totalitarian” regime of the BJP.
“The ED is being used to suppress leaders in the opposition; it is crystal clear to bring the totalitarian rule of the BJP in the state. This establishes the autocracy has arrived in the country,” said Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant.
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