NCP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Majeed Memon on Wednesday said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) case against the party chief Sharad Pawar is a "politically motivated move" by the top brass of the BJP, "fearing his rising popularity in rural Maharashtra" ahead of Assembly elections in the state.
"ED suddenly woke up. Seeing the timing, it appears to be a politically motivated move. Last 10 days Sharad Pawar has been vigorously campaigning in rural Maharashtra and he has literally captured the rural areas. There is an overwhelming response to Sharad Pawar and BJP would be totally wiped off. NCP has just rejuvenated itself," said Memon.
"This triggered panic button for the political bosses of BJP and at their behest ED, this time dragged Shard Pawar so as to defame him, and put him under mental and physical agony. This is purely an abuse of the probe agency," he said.
Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar has said that he will visit the ED office at Mumbai on Friday and make himself available to the agency for their investigation in the money laundering case, in which he has been named.
Single-phase voting for Maharashtra Assembly elections will be held on October 21 and the counting of votes is scheduled on October 24.
On September 23, The NCP chief, party leader Ajit Pawar and others were named in an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in connection with the Rs 5,000 crore Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank (MSCB) scam case.
The investigation has been initiated based on the FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police following directions from the Bombay High Court, ED sources said.