NCP calls charges against its leaders a conspiracy

The NCP on Friday alleged that the ED case against its supremo Sharad Pawar is a conspiracy of the Narendra Modi government to brand opposition leaders as thieves and corrupt, a charge rubbished by the BJP.

The allegation came in the wake of the Enforcement Directorate naming Pawar in a money laundering case and questioning NCP leader Praful Patel for alleged business deals with late Iqbal Mirchi, a Dawood Ibrahim aide.

"The ED filed a case against Pawar. It is a conspiracy of the BJP, Modi and (home minister Amit) Shah to remove opposition leaders by painting them as thieves and corrupt," alleged NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik.

"They said Patel is linked to Dawood and Mirchi to defame us during polls through electronic media," he added.

Malik also called Devendra Fadnavis the "most corrupt and dishonest chief minister" in Maharashtra's history.

"All MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority) contracts were given at 42 per cent excess rates. Contracts were given to cartels. The government gave contracts to blacklisted companies," he alleged.

The BJP dismissed Malik's tirade, saying he was levelling baseless allegations to divert attention as the links between Dawood and the NCP was coming to light.

Maharashtra BJP's chief spokesperson Madhav Bhandari also said the documents related to the award of contracts by the Fadnavis government were in public domain.

"NCP leaders who did not do anything besides corruption should not try to tarnish the clean image of the chief minister," he added.