Sharad Pawar’s ‘hopeful’ jibe at Center on ED’s questioning of Jayant Patil

MUMBAI: Amid the questioning of senior NCP leader Jayant Patil by the Enforcement Directorate in Mumbai, party chief Sharad Pawar on Monday hinted that action against some leaders could be the result of refusing to meet “expectations” of the ruling dispensation. Is. Pawar said he would face difficulties but would never deviate from the path he has chosen. He was speaking to reporters in Pune on the action taken by the ED and other central investigative agencies against some leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party.

“The possibility cannot be ruled out that the present government has certain expectations from 9-10 NCP leaders. We are not ready to fulfill those expectations and are ready to pay the price for our stand,” he said. We will never give up on our path.” Chosen,” he said in a veiled attack on the BJP-led central government.

“Since some people could not digest it (NCP’s stand), we are suffering. But we are not worried about it,” he said. Significantly, when summoned by the ED, Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil had said that since he is part of the opposition, he has to face such agony. Asked about the questioning of Patil by the ED, Pawar said, “I have a list of some top 10 leaders who have faced probe. Some of them have also faced action by these agencies.”

Patil is being questioned for over seven hours at the ED’s office in south Mumbai in connection with the money laundering case related to alleged financial irregularities in the now-bankrupt financial services company IL&FS, an official said.

“NCP leader (former home minister) Anil Deshmukh faced charges of taking Rs 100 crore for an educational institute and had to spend 13-14 months in jail. Later, it came to light that the amount received was Rs 1.50 crore , not Rs 100 crore. This underlines the level of exaggeration of the allegations… People were shocked when they first heard about such allegations. Deshmukh was defamed. This is the best example of abuse of power Is.”

In March 2021, Deshmukh was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in December 2022 in a corruption case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), after IPS officer Param Bir Singh (now retired) alleged that Deshmukh, was given by the then Home Minister. Police officers aim to collect Rs 100 crore per month from restaurants and bars in Mumbai.

Deshmukh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in November 2021 in a money laundering case. He is currently out on bail. Another senior NCP leader Nawab Malik, a former Maharashtra minister, was arrested by the ED on February 23, 2022, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in its probe into the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates.