Central agencies were never used like this against opposition leaders, says Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government over alleged misuse of central investigation agencies. He said central agencies were never used in the past the way it is being used now to silence opposition leaders in many states across the country.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government over alleged misuse of central investigation agencies. He said central agencies were never used in the past the way it is being used now to silence opposition leaders in many states across the country. He said the problem is not limited only to Maharashtra and opposition leaders in many states have been targeted.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar slammed the BJP over several issues. (HT FILE)

Pawar was reacting over the action of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against ministers and leaders from Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA). “Central agencies were never used like this in the country in the past. It appears that the existing (BJP) government is using them to silence the opposition parties; hence not only Maharashtra but Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and many states in southern India are facing similar situations. We are talking here since we know people related to our state but the problem is not limited to Maharashtra,” Pawar said.

Many senior leaders such as transport minister Anil Parab, MP Bhavana Gawali and MLA Pratap Sarnaik (Shiv Sena), former home minister Anil Deshmukh, Eknath Khadse (NCP), among others have got notices from ED. In the case of Anil Deshmukh, both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED are investigating allegations of extortion against him.

He also criticised the BJP for demanding reopening of temples in the state. Pawar said they were expecting consonance from those who follow the BJP-led government at the Centre as they directed the state to take precautions in the backdrop of potential third wave threat looming large. “The Central government has issued guidelines and directed the state to take precautions for some more time, which the state government and chief minister (Uddhav Thackeray) decided to follow. Others may have a different opinion, and in a democratic set up, it is their right to raise their voice. But those who follow the Central government should have shown consonance as the state government is following their directives. I don’t want to say more on this,” the veteran leader said.

The former Union agriculture minister added that the lathicharge on farmers in Haryana is a serious matter. “But more than that, the farmers are on agitation for the past 14 months, regardless of winter, summer and monsoon season. If our rulers were sensitive, they should have taken a cognisance of this, but unfortunately the agrarian community is neglected,” Pawar said.