ED questions NCP leader Jayant Patil: Opposition alleges vendetta, pressure on probe agencies

Jayant Patil at ED office on Monday. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

The questioning of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Jayant Patil by the ED on Monday evoked strong reactions with party MP Supriya Sule claiming that Opposition leaders are being targeted. The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray alleged that people siding with truth are being pressured through Central probe agencies, reported the PTI.

Aaditya Thackeray alleged that the country is witnessing an authoritarian regime as Jayant Patil, who heads the Maharashtra NCP unit, appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Mumbai in a money laundering case linked to alleged financial irregularities in the now-bankrupt financial services firm IL&FS, as per the PTI.

IN PHOTOS: NCP leader Jayant Patil appears before ED; party workers stage protest in Mumbai

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"Those who side with the truth, which is sometimes against the government, are being pressurised with the help of central probe agencies, and this pattern can be seen across the country," the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader told reporters.

Speaking about Jayant Patil's questioning, NCP leader and Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule said, "Of all the ED or CBI cases in the last few years, 90 to 95 per cent are against the Opposition leaders in the country. This has been widely reported by the media as well. The one who is in opposition easily gets notices from the probe agencies," reported the PTI.

Also Read: Suffering for being part of opposition: NCP's Jayant Patil on ED summon

Sule, however, defended officials of the probe agencies, according to the PTI.

"Those poor officials are not at fault. Previously (during the UPA regime), the probe agencies were autonomous, but now they are run by some invisible hand. Everyone who speaks against the current dispensation invites a notice," NCP leader Supriya Sule said, as per the PTI.

"This is not new for me. This has been happening in the country for the last eight to nine years," Sule added further.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, hundreds of NCP party workers gathered outside the Enforcement Directorate's office in south Mumbai and staged a protest outside against a summons issued by it to Jayant Patil in the money laundering case.

The protesters claimed that the Centre and the Enforcement Directorate were indulging in "political vendetta" and their leader was being allegedly targeted.

(with PTi inputs)