Biggest financial frauds have taken place during BJP regime: Shiv Sena mouthpiece
Sena MP Sanjay Raut in his weekly column ‘Rokthok’ in the party’s mouthpiece ‘Samana’ on Sunday questioned the inaction of the central investigation agencies in this matter.
Mumbai: Shiv Sena has trained guns on Bhartiya Janata Party-led central government over the alleged ABG Shipyard fraud. The party has alleged that the biggest financial frauds have taken place during BJP’s regime and the central agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) were busy investigating petty transactions in Maharashtra instead of concentrating on such big scams. Stating that the scam is a big blot on the prestige of ED and CBI, Sena has demanded a probe into the nexus between the directors of the company and BJP leaders.
ABG Shipyard one of the most prominent private shipping firms is accused of defrauding 28 banks to the tune of ₹22,842 crore in what could be the biggest bank fraud in the history of India.
Sena MP Sanjay Raut in his weekly column ‘Rokthok’ in the party’s mouthpiece ‘Samana’ on Sunday questioned the inaction of the central investigation agencies in this matter. “The country is rocked by the scam of this magnitude. It is surprising that the central investigation agencies, which are probing transactions worth lakhs in Maharashtra, is inactive in such a huge scam,” questioned Raut.
“The company had from 2012 to 2017 taken loans from 28 banks. They indulged in purchasing private property and sending the money out of India. In 2018, the debt recovery tribunal even ordered to recover ₹13,975 crore from this company and even sell its assets. However, nothing was done till 2022. This gave enough time for the accused to divert their money abroad and also flee from the country,” said Raut, adding that investigating agencies that are actively targeting BJP’s political opponents in Maharashtra are silent spectators in this entire loot.
Without naming the prime minister, Raut said that he did not take any step even though the scam was taking place openly for the last four years.
Raut called for a probe into the “nexus” between BJP leaders and ABG Shipyard Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Rishi Agarwal. “This Gujarat-based company has ties with the BJP. The agencies need to probe how much donation has been given to the BJP by this company. Agarwal was frequently seen with Modi when the latter was the chief minister of Gujarat, during the Vibrant Gujarat summit and was even the part of the state delegation which accompanied Modi to South Korea,” he added.
Raut has said that the country was on a crucial downward turn and the leadership was standing on a weakened pillar.
Meanwhile, BJP legislator Ram Kadam said the central agencies will probe all matters. “Sanjay Raut should first answer about the various questionable transactions he is involved in before pointing fingers at others,” said Kadam.
“There is no question of supporting anyone who is fraud and action will be taken on them. However, the Shiv Sena leaders need to introspect,” he added.