The Enforcement Directorate's (ED) raids on the properties of Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik were "politically motivated", Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant alleged here on Friday.
The ED on Wednesday arrested Amit Chandole, an alleged associate of Sarnaik, in connection with its money laundering case against a security service provider company and others.
Before that, the ED had launched searches at properties of Sarnaik on November 24 in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane.
In a statement, Sawant said the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had in 2013 decided to give contracts for providing private security guards.
Tops Security Agency and some other companies got contracts from the MMRDA between 2014-2017 and again from 2017 to 2020, Sawant said.
Stating that the BJP was in power in Maharashtra when the contracts were awarded to Tops Security Agency, Sawant asked why was the company awarded the contract again in 2017 if the earlier contract involved corruption, as alleged.
The Congress leader further claimed that since 2014 (after the BJP came to power at the Centre) there have been several instances of central agencies being used to bring down governments of opposition (non-BJP) parties.
"The ED's action against Sarnaik is politically motivated and biased," he alleged.
Published 27 November 2020, 20:41 IST