Sharad Pawar, the chief of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), tweeted on Thursday that he had received notice from the Income Tax department, calling it a "love letter". He posted on a day a new government led by Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde took charge in Maharashtra, after a rebellion brought down the previous coalition of Uddhav Thackeray government that included Sharad Pawar's party and the Congress.
"I have received a love letter, a love letter from the income tax relating to poll affidavits filed in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2020.'' Mr Pawar tweeted.
Taking a swipe at the BJP-ruled central government, the veteran politician, in a follow-up tweet, said that the agency was "gathering information on certain people".
"There has been a qualitative increase in the efficiency of this department. Focusing on gathering information for so many years, and gathering information from certain people, seems to be a strategic shift," Mr Pawar's tweet, roughly translated from Marathi, read.
Mr Pawar's NCP -- part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi -- lost power Wednesday as Uddhav Thackeray resigned as Chief Minister after being asked to prove his majority.
Mr Thackeray was reduced to a minority in the Shiv Sena, founded by his father, after Eknath Shinde led a rebellion of 39 MLAs, alleging that Mr Thackeray had compromised on the party's core Hindutva ideology by partnering with the Congress and the NCP.
Mr Pawar rejected rebel the Shinde faction's claims as "baseless".
"This allegation is baseless. It has no connection with NCP and Congress. Something has to be told to people (as an excuse), which is why NCP and Congress are being blamed," he said, implying that Mr Shinde's rebellion was driven by the greed for power, rather than ideology.
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