Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar came to the defence of senior party leader Chhagan Bhujbal’s nephew, Sameer Bhujbal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Monday night in a money-laundering case.
“I have seen other governments besides the Congress and the NCP. I have very closely observed the Shiv Sena-BJP government in 1995. But, in a democracy, I have not seen such a blatant misuse of power in the last 40 years,” Pawar said while slamming the BJP-Shiv Sena government.
Pawar, a former Maharashtra chief minister besides holding Union ministries had handled portfolios like defence and agriculture, said: “Like in the case of the Centre, the state also has a group of ministers who take decisions collectively. This is a case of collective decision… It is unprecedented that three Central agencies investigate one allegation. It means that they want to continue to keep investigating till they get what they want. There is just one family that is being targeted here for political gains.” The veteran politician also advised Bhujbal to cooperate with the investigation and come out clean.
Published 02 February 2016, 20:05 IST