‘UPA government ignored my warning against PMLA, BJP later misused it’: Pawar

Pawar was speaking at the launch of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut’s book ‘Narkatala Swarg’ (Heaven In Hell) on his 101 days in jail in 2022. The book was launched by Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, renowned lyricist Javed Akhtar and Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale

MUMBAI: NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had ignored his warning about the possible misuse of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to its own detriment—after the BJP came to power, PMLA was used to suppress opposition leaders by using the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Mumbai, India. May 17, 2025: Shiv Sena (UBT) party leader and MP Sanjay Raut's book titled ‘Narkatala Swarg’ (Heaven in hell) launched at the hands of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, lyricist Javed Akhtar and All India Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale at Ravindra Natya Mandir in Prabhadevi, Mumbai. Mumbai, India. May 17, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Hindustan Times)

Pawar was speaking at the launch of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut’s book ‘Narkatala Swarg’ (Heaven In Hell) on his 101 days in jail in 2022. The book was launched by Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, renowned lyricist Javed Akhtar and Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale.

“When our cabinet colleague P Chidambaram tabled a proposal to amend the PMLA, I had warned PM Manmohan Singh that it could be misused,” said Pawar. “After 2014, the BJP government used the same act to send Chidambaram and many other opposition leaders to jail in fake cases. MP Sanjay Raut and Anil Deshmukh were victims of this Act.”

Uddhav Thackeray said that the current “autocratic” regime had turned a heaven like India into a hell by its misuse of central investigation agencies, and added that since India followed a federal structure, states too should be allowed to use these agencies. Hinting at the Gujarati element, he said it was a “strange coincidence” that Moraraji Desai, Rajni Patel and now Modi-Shah wanted to finish the Shiv Sena. “It’s because the party raised its voice for Marathi and Mumbai,” he said.

Akhtar lauded Raut for his “fearless expression”. “Democracy needs different political parties and citizens without political loyalty to any party who raise their voice on society’s problems and the government’s mistakes,” he said. “I represent that section of society. Extremists from both sides dislike us. One side tells me to go to hell, and other side tells me to go to Pakistan. If there is a choice, I would choose hell over Pakistan,” he quipped. Akhtar also slammed ruling party leaders who criticised Raut’s book before its launch.

Earlier, Raut said he decided not to surrender before the “brutal regime”. “The memories of jail are bitter, of course, but one has to leave it at that and look at it as experience,” he said. “Those who are willing to work in the opposition against the autocratic regime should read this book. The lesson of history is that dictatorship does not last for long.”

TMC MP Gokhale said the union government had created trouble for itself by sending Raut to jail. “This book will be read as history after a few decades and people will know that there was a dictator and there was Amit Shah and a few people who fought against the brutal regime,” he said.