Sharad Pawar Appeals NCP Workers, Supporters For Calm Ahead Of ED Visit Tomorrow

Pawar, on Wednesday, said that he will visit the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office on Friday and make himself available to the agency for their investigation in the money laundering case, in which he has been named.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Pawar had said he will be going to ED office on Friday afternoon at around 2 pm. (File Photo/ Getty)

New Delhi: Ahead of Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar’s ‘voluntary’ visit to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai Police has imposed section 144 around the agency’s premises, to avoid any kind of aggression by the supporters of the NCP chief. In a press conference on Wednesday, Pawar had said he will be going to ED office on Friday afternoon at around 2 pm. Pawar requested his supporters to maintain calm ahead of his visit. “As mentioned during my press conference yesterday, I will be visiting the Mumbai ED office at Ballard Estate tomorrow, Friday 27 September, at 14.00 hrs,” he tweeted. “I appeal to all my NCP cadre and supporters not to gather near the ED office premises. Keeping our tradition to honour the constitution and respect for institutions, I request your co-operation to the police and other government agencies,” he said in a following tweet. “Please take care and make sure that people are not inconvenienced.”

I appeal to all my NCP cadre and supporters not to gather near the ED office premises. Keeping our tradition to honour the constitution and respect for institutions, I request your co-operation to the police and other government agencies.

— Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) September 26, 2019

Pawar, on Wednesday, said that he will visit the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office on Friday and make himself available to the agency for their investigation in the money laundering case, in which he has been named. The veteran leader said due to the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections he will be mostly outside Mumbai during the next one month which "should not be taken as his non-cooperation in the ED's investigation". "I want to clarify that I have never been a member of the administrative board of any cooperative bank in my life. I have full faith in the constitution and will fully cooperate with the agency. However, for one month I will visit as many districts as possible in the wake of Maharashtra Assembly elections. It should not be taken by the agency as my non-availability," said Pawar. Single-phase voting for Maharashtra Assembly elections will be held on October 21 and the counting of votes is scheduled on October 24. On September 23, The NCP chief, party leader Ajit Pawar and others were named in an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in connection with the Rs 5,000 crore Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank (MSCB) scam case. (With inputs from agencies)