ED raids an attempt to malign image, says Thackeray faction

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the houses of two aides of Aaditya Thackeray, leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), following a march protesting alleged scams in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The ED claimed the searches were part of a probe into irregularities in the BMC awarding a contract to Lifeline Hospital Management Services for two Covid-19 centres. The Sena (UBT) called it a BJP conspiracy to malign the Thackeray family ahead of civic elections. Party workers gathered outside the building and raised slogans against the government.

Barely 24 hours after Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray announced a march protesting alleged scams in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in the last one year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the houses of Suraj Chavan, party secretary and a close aide of Aaditya Thackeray, and Sujit Patkar, a friend of MP Sanjay Raut.

ED raids an attempt to malign image, says Thackeray faction

Though the central agency claimed that the searches were part of its probe into the irregularities in the BMC awarding a contract to Lifeline Hospital Management Services for two jumbo Covid-19 centres, the Sena (UBT) called it a conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to malign the image of the Thackeray family ahead of the civic elections. Patkar is one of the partners at the firm, ED sources said.

Chavan is the third from the party after Raut and MLC Anil Parab who have come under the ED scanner.

Around 8 am on Wednesday, ED sleuths reached Chavan’s home at Chembur. As the news broke, party workers gathered outside the building and raised slogans against the government.

“Before the split in the Shiv Sena, the ED and other central agencies started inquiries against many leaders like Yamini Jadhav and her husband Yashwant Jadhav, and Pratap Sarnaik. But once they switched their loyalty and joined the Eknath Shinde camp, no action was taken against them,” a party leader told reporters.

“The Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government is not confident to win the BMC elections as a recent survey says Thackeray is the most popular leader. So, to malign the image of the Thackeray family with corruption charges, the ED conducted these raids. Besides, the ruling alliance wants to use these raids to threaten local leaders, former corporators to switch sides,” Sawant said.

On Wednesday afternoon, Thackeray held a meeting with Vibhag Paramukhs (divisional chiefs) at Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar.

According to a leader, who attended the meeting, Thackeray said that these raids were part of the BJP’s strategy to malign the image of his family ahead of the BMC polls. “Fadnavis, Shinde thought that the sympathy wave for the party and the Thackeray family would ebb, but it is not happening. So, to malign the image, the government will do such things in future too.”

Reacting to the allegations, Sheetal Mhatre, spokesperson for Shinde camp, said, “If something wrong has happened it must be probed. The Central government is only doing its job. The inquiry must reach its logical end.”

BJP MLA Ameet Satam said, “This is just the beginning and people who have looted Mumbai for the last 25 years will be exposed. The BMC scam is the biggest in the country since independence.”

On Monday, Shinde ordered a probe by a special investigation team headed by the city police commissioner to probe alleged irregularities in the BMC during the pandemic. In a counterattack, Thackeray on Tuesday announced that his party would take out a protest march to the BMC headquarters on July 1 to question the “scams” done by the administration of the civic body in the last one year since the tenure of the elected body was over and the BMC was handled by the municipal commissioner who reports to the urban development department headed by Shinde.