NCP leader Dhananjay Munde on Thursday alleged that an "undeclared Emergency" has become more apparent in the country now with the summoning of MNS chief Raj Thackeray by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering probe.
He further alleged that the ED summoned Thackeray, a bitter critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, to "silence him" ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls, due in September-October.
Munde, who is leader of the opposition in the state Legislative Council, also charged the BJP, heading governments at the Centre and in the state, with "throttling" democracy.
"The ED has been unleashed behind Thackeray as he exposed Modi, Shah and their government in Maharashtra during the Lok Sabha polls (held earlier this year)," Munde said.
"If you (opposition) will speak against us (Modi and Shah), we will silence you by leaving the ED, CBI and Income Tax department after you. The undeclared Emergency in our country has become more visible now," he said.
The NCP leader recalled that Thackeray earlier launched scathing attacks on the UPA governments at the Centre (between 2004 and 2014) and also the Congress-NCP combine (from 1999 to 2014) in Maharashtra.
Munde observed that Thackeray, who supported Modi during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, changed his position and "exposed" the central government in the general elections held earlier this year, "leading to the serving of the notice".
"And this is quite unfortunate...one has to take criticism on the chin and learn from itin a democratic set up," he added.
Thackeray on Thursday reached the ED's office in south Mumbai after the agency summoned him in a case pertaining to alleged irregularities related to Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) loan to Kohinoor CTNL.
The ED is probing alleged irregularities relating to loans and equity investment worth over Rs 450 crore by IL&FS in Kohinoor CTNL Infrastructure Company, which is developing Kohinoor Square tower in Mumbai's Dadar area.
Former Maharashtra chief minister and senior Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi's son Unmesh Joshi was also summoned by the ED in this case.
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