A day after it summoned him for questioning in connection with a corruption case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday conducted raids at three locations belonging Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab of the Shiv Sena and also carried out searches at nine location Sena’s five-time MP Bhavana Gawli in connection with a money laundering case.
On a day when the Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut charged once again that the BJP was using the ED to indulge in “vindictive politics” against his party, the ED conducted raids at three locations of Parab in connection with the allegations of corruption made by incarcerated police officer Sachin Vaze against him.
The ED’s raids on Parab’s premises came a day ahead of Parab is scheduled to appear before the investigating agency on the allegations of corruption.
Talking to media persons after the news of ED’s raids on Parab’s spread, Raut said: “The ED action has been on against the Shiv Sena for the past few days. ED issued summons to Parab, but the smile on our faces has not gone. The ED is targeting the Shiv Sena. The raids on Parab’s premises will have no bearing on the stability of the MVA government. Parab is well versed with law. He will fight it out”.
“For political workers like us, these kinds of notices are not warrants but mere love letters. Only the frequency of such ‘love letters’ has increased after the BJP failed in many attempts to breach the strong and impregnable wall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government which remains stable. We are not scared by these kinds of actions,” Raut said.
Raut handed out an indirect warning to the BJP and its leaders, when he indicated that the Shiv Sena would pay them back in the same coin when its party – in alliance with other like-minded parties -- comes to power at the Centre. “Everybody can see the BJP-led Narendra Modi government is indulging in vindictive politics. In politics, every political party gets a chance to rule. The BJP should realise that even our time will come,” he said.
“There is collusion between the ED and BJP. The ED is acting at the behest of the BJP. Whatever it may be, we will cooperate with the agencies,” Raut said.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Washim in eastern Maharashtra and Mumbai, the ED conducted raids at nine locations belonging to five educational institutions of Yavatmal-Washim MP Bhavana Gawli. She said that she had so far not received any notice from the ED.
Talking to media persons, Bhawana Gawli dsaid: “I have not received any notice from the ED. The ED officials have landed at the offices of various educational institutions that I am associated with. They are behaving as if the country is under an Emergency rule. The Shiv Sena’s ministers and leaders are being targeted. Since there were issues with the accounts, I had myself an FIR against some officials. The ED is trying to give a new twist to the whole thing. The educational institutions where the raids are being conducted are the places where students are undergoing education”.
“I have been in the educational field for the last 20 years. I have been elected to the Lok Sabha five times. Maybe some leaders are not liking this,” she said.
Demanding to know if ED was not taking similar action was not being against the BJP leaders, Gawli said: “We have a BJP MLA in our area. He runs a land mafia. He is involved in a Rs 500 crore scam. My question is why the Centre is not ordering ED action against this MLA? Why is it targeting only the Shiv Sena leaders? What we are witnessing is an Emergency-like situation. The level of politics is going down”.
On Sunday, Raut had linked the summons issued to Parab to the recent arrest of Union Minister and senior BJP leader Narayan Rane during the “Jan Ashiward Yatra” during the last week.
It may be recalled that Rane was arrested at Sangamner in Ratnagiri district on August 24 for his “tight-slap” remark against Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray. However, Rane was granted bail by a Mahad court on the same night.
Following Rane’s arrest, the BJP had charged that Parab, as a guardian minister of Ratnagiri district, had mounted pressure on the district police administration to arrest Rane. The principal opposition party had also demanded a CBI probe into a CBI probe into a video clip that purportedly showed the minister speaking to a senior police official and asking the latter to arrest Rane.
Though the timing of ED’s notice and raids smack of political vendetta, the ED is said to be investigating an allegation that Vaze had made in April this year that the minister had asked him to collect Rs 50 crore to close a preliminary inquiry against Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT).
It may be recalled that in a four-page hand written letter to the Special Judge of the NIA court on April 7, 2021 Vaze – who is currently in the central investigating agency’s custody in the twin SUV planting and alleged Manshukh Hiran murder cases – had claimed that Parab had called him July-August, 2020 to his official bungalow and look into a complaint concerning the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT), which was under preliminary enquiry and asked him to bring the SBUT trustees to him for negotiations about the enquiry.
“He ( Parab) also insisted to initiate primary talks to get Rs.50 crore from the SBUT in order to close the said enquiry. I had expressed my inability to do any such things as I do not know anyone from the SBUT and also I did not have any control over the enquiry,” Vaze contended in his letter to the NIA court.
