Central agencies ensured BJP’s victory in UP polls, claims Sena

An editorial in Saamana said that Mayawati was an example of how pressure tactics are used against political opponents and added that the central agencies were not independent and non-partisan

Mumbai Two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the opposition parties were putting pressure on central investigative agencies, Shiv Sena said that federal agencies played an important role in ensuring BJP’s victory in Uttar Pradesh.

Maharashtra BJP spokesperson said that as a policy, it does not respond to criticism made in Saamana (AFP)

An editorial in Saamana on Saturday said that Mayawati was a classic example of how pressure tactics are used against political opponents and added that the central agencies were not independent and non-partisan.

The editorial said, “Mayawati’s Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) stayed away from the election and the votes were diverted to BJP. Once upon a time, Mayawati ruled UP like a tigress, but she was forced to stay away from the election after she was pressured by central agencies in a disproportionate assets case. The pressure from central agencies was a big factor for BJP’s victory in Uttar Pradesh.”

It further added, “In the victory rally, our prime minister Modi said that opposition parties are putting pressure on central investigating agencies. The people will not agree with the PM’s views. Mayawati is a classic example of what pressure tactics are.”

Maharashtra BJP spokesperson said that as a policy, it does not respond to criticism made in Saamana.

Shiv Sena leader and MP Sanjay Raut on February 28 wrote to the prime minister’s office about the alleged extortion bids by some Enforcement Directorate officials and BJP leaders.

The editorial asked how can exposing the nexus between central agencies and corrupt BJP leaders put pressure on the agencies. “How can revealing information to investigating agencies against BJP’s corrupt leaders be called putting pressure on federal agencies? Maharashtra and West Bengal will not become slaves of Delhi and therefore the central agencies are misused against them,” it said.

The Sena mouthpiece questioned the relentless pursuit of these federal agencies in the backdrop of action against several Sena leaders including people close to Sanjay Raut, Yashwant Jadhav, Anandrao Adsul, Bhavana Gawali, Rahul Kanal, Pratap Sarnaik, and Anil Parab.

“The BJP leaders in Maharashtra issue threats in the name of central agencies and immediate action follows. This is not a sign of agencies being independent or non-partisan. All this is being done to make Maharashtra bow down, destroy Marathi pride and bring [us] on [our] knees. If this tendency [to use agencies against Maharashtra] increases after victory in four states, then Maharashtra must fight against this injustice,” the editorial said.

During his victory speech on March 10, Modi indirectly targeted his opponents and said that any action by the central agencies is portrayed as action against a state, community or caste. “Today, we are seeing that when these independent agencies take action against the corrupt, then these people and their entire ecosystem discredit and defame them,” he added.