Under the scrutiny of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Maharashtra ex-minister and Shiv Sena Deputy Leader Arjun Khotkar stated on Saturday that he is joining the breakaway camp led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, news agency IANS reported.


Khotkar claimed during a packed press conference that he had thorough conversations with Shiv Sena President and ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray and Chief Spokesperson Sanjay Raut about his decision.






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Without referring to ED, Khotkar said, "I have explained to them the compulsions - which all are aware - behind my decision, the harassment to my family... I am forced to make certain decisions... And they (Thackeray-Raut) have understood my predicament."


As a veiled criticism of the central agency that has been looking into him and his family for more than two years, he responded to a question by saying that when someone is in a crisis, they would go for protection from somewhere.


In response to the question about central agency investigation against him, Khotkar cited financial transactions related to the suspected unlawful auction sale of the Jalna Cooperative Sugar Factory Ltd. by the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) and asserted his innocence.


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Several days earlier, Raut praised Khotkar for his bravery in revealing that the ED's pestering had driven him to make the decision (to switch sides to Shinde camp).


The ED seized Khotkar's properties last month (June 2022) under the terms of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the FIR filed by the Economic Offenses Wing of the Mumbai Police, seven months after his home was searched in November 2021.


The investigators asserted, among other things, that the MSCB sold the sugar mill fraudulently to relatives or friends of the bank's officers and directors bye-passing regulations.


Khotkar made his move after making calls to Shinde, Abdul Sattar, another rebellious ex-minister, and a union minister during the previous several days.


(With IANS Inputs)