Maharashtra government can't be pulled down by using ED: Shiv Sena slams BJP

Shiv Sena party symbol. File Pic

The Shiv Sena on Wednesday hit out at the BJP saying it should not harbour any superstition that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) can be used for pulling down the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra.

In an editorial in party mouthpiece ''Saamana'', the Sena also alleged that the government agencies like the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) were degenerating at a fast pace.

The ED has summoned Varsha Raut, wife of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, for questioning in the over ₹ 4,300-crore PMC Bank money-laundering case. However, She skipped the questioning by the ED on Tuesday.

Criticising BJP's state unit chief Chandrakant Patil over his remarks that the ED was a non-political institution and bound by the Constitution, the Sena said, "Chandrakant Patil asked if Sanjay Raut doesn't believe in the Constitution. Since when is Chandrakant Patil so concerned about the Constitution?

"Ask the question about the Constitution to the Governor. Twelve legislative council seats from the governor's quota have fallen vacant in Juneand despite the cabinet recommendations, the seats are not being filled," it said.

"In 2020, all attempts to topple the Uddhav Thackeray government failed. So the government that the governor wishes will not be a reality for the next 25 years," it asked.

"The BJP should come out of the superstition that it can use the ED to topple the Maharashtra government. Eknath Khadse gets an ED notice after he quits the BJP. After ED raids on TDP MPs, they join the BJP," it added.

Eknath Khadse, who has recently joined Sharad Pawar's NCP, has been summoned by the ED for questioning in connection with a money-laundering case linked to a land deal in Pune's Bhosri area last month, the ED had raided premises linked to Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik in connection with a money-laundering case.

"The action against Sharad Pawar, Sanjay Raut, Khadse, Sarnaik, or other MVA leaders is perversity at its peak. If the motive is pure, the citizens should abide by them, otherwise, it is not binding on the citizens to follow illegal orders," it said.

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