'Attack On Middle Class Marathi Manoos': Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut After ED Action
Maharashtra News: Sanjay Raut said the ED move came on a day when the Mumbai Police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of extortion against the central agency's officers.
New Delhi: After the ED attached his properties in connection with the Rs 1,034 crore 'Patra Chawl' land scam case, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday said he would not cowed down by such moves and called it an "attack on middle class Marathi manoos".
Speaking with reporters in New Delhi, Raut said, "The ED action is an act of vengeance against middle class Marathi manoos (Marathi people). The entire Maharashtra should know about this."
"I am not scared of anyone. I will not bend. This is my hard-earned money," PTI quoted Raut as saying. The Shiv Sena leader also tweeted Asatyamev Jayate (lie has triumphed) after the ED action.
The Shiv Sena leader said the ED move came on a day when the Mumbai Police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of extortion against the central agency's officers.
Last month, the Rajya Sabha MP had alleged in a press conference that some ED officers were running an extortion racket and some officers were acting as "an ATM" for the BJP.
The Rajya Sabha MP claimed that he was being targeted by the BJP as he did not support efforts to bring down the MVA government in Maharashtra. The Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government also comprises the Congress and the NCP.
"Your (the BJP) government could not be formed because of me. Now I am not supporting you in bringing down the government. This is an attempt to pressurise me, but I will now be cowed," Raut further said.
The ED has attached eight land parcels in Alibaug in adjoining Raigad district and a flat in Mumbai's Dadar area linked to Raut and his family under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The attachment is linked to a money laundering probe related to a Rs 1,034 crore worth land 'scam' related to the re-development of a chawl in Mumbai.
The ED had arrested Maharashtra-based businessman Pravin Raut in this case in February.
Raut said he received phone calls from several opposition leaders, including Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and NCP president Sharad Pawar, after the ED action.
NCP, Aaditya Thackeray React To ED Action Against Sanjay Raut
Reacting to the development, Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray called the ED action "political vendetta". "Whatever is happening is a part of political vendetta and not democratic," ANI quoted Thackeray as saying.
The NCP accused the BJP of misusing central probe agencies to muzzle the voices of MVA leaders in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra NCP chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase accused the BJP of targeting MVA leaders as the saffron party could not form a government in the state after the 2019 election.
"The BJP government at the Centre is misusing its probe agencies to muzzle voices of its political opponents. What is going on (in Maharashtra)? This is politics of vendetta that's going on in Maharashtra," Tapase said in a video statement.
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