Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar on Tuesday claimed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) action against the brother-in-law of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was politically motivated and said "misuse" of central agencies is an important issue facing the country at present.
The ED has said it has attached assets worth Rs 6.45 crore of a company owned by Shridhar Madhav Patankar, Mr Thackeray's brother-in-law, in connection with a money laundering probe.
Speaking to reporters at Baramati in Pune district, Mr Pawar, when asked about the ED action, said, "The misuse of these tools (central agencies) is one of the important issues in front of the country. Their various actions clearly show there is a programme to harass some people due to political or some other motive."
The NCP leader, whose party is a key constituent of the Mr Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, quipped that five to ten years ago, nobody knew that an institution like the ED existed, but today the financial investigation agency has reached even rural areas.
"Unfortunately, the misuse of all these tools is currently going on. Let's see, there are some alternatives to this, but it is better not to discuss it now," the former Union Minister said.
Earlier in the day, the ED said it has issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach 11 residential flats in Neelambari project, located in Thane near Mumbai, of Shree Saibaba Grihanirmiti Pvt Ltd.
Mr Patankar "owns and controls" Shree Saibaba Grihanirmiti Pvt Ltd, the central agency said.
The agency alleged funds that were allegedly siphoned off in a money laundering case being investigated against a company named Pushpak Bullion were "parked" in the real estate projects of Shree Saibaba Grihanirmiti Pvt Ltd.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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