On Monday, December 28, lashing at the Centre, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh stated that anyone who speaks against policies or leaders of the BJP is facing action by the Central agencies.
The NCP leader further added that the use of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for “political purposes” had never happened in Maharashtra before. Furthermore, he stated, "Anybody who speaks against policies or leaders of the BJP faces the ED or the CBI. As far as the Central Bureau of Investigation is concerned, we had taken a decision that any probe by that agency in Maharashtra cannot be pursued without the permission of the state government.
Back in October this year, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government had revoked the "general consent" given to the CBI to probe cases in the state.
This comes after Varsha Raut, wife of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) with regards to the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank scam case. Moreover, she has been instructed to be present at the ED office on December 29. This happens to be one of the third summon sent to the Sena leader’s wife. According to sources, Varsha Raut had skipped the earlier two summons citing ill health.
A notice was issued to NCP president Sharad Pawar before the assembly elections. Recently, Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Saranaik and NCP leader Eknath Khadse were also asked to appear before the ED for inquiry.
Ever since the PMC crisis, over nine lakh depositors, mostly people who are senior citizens have been unable to fend for themselves. Moreover, at least 50 people have died due to anxiety and stress-related issues.