NASHIK: Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Friday denied allegations that he had joined the BJP-headed alliance in the state to avoid investigation by Enforcement Directorate, adding that he had never made any such admission.
The case against him had been closed when he was part of the previous government and he and his colleagues sided with BJP to ensure speedy development in their constituencies, he said. Bhujbal was responding to a claim in a book that he admitted that the ED case was a factor in his decision to part ways with NCP founder Sharad Pawar and support his nephew Ajit Pawar who split the party in July 2023.
"I have not read the book. I think it is a deliberate attempt to divert attention. We are in the middle of assembly elections. After the elections, I will consult my lawyers and take action if anything wrong has been attributed to me," he said.
"My case was closed when I was in the Uddhav Thackeray-headed government. I deny what is being attributed to me in the media," Bhujbal added. Bhujbal was arrested in an alleged money laundering case related to the construction of Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi. He was granted bail in 2018.
Earlier in the day, MP Supriya Sule of the Sharad Pawar-headed NCP (SP) cited excerpts from the book as published by a newspaper, and said they validate her allegations. "I have spoken in Parliament on numerous occasions about the misuse of central agencies. Rival parties are being broken up by an invisible power in an unconstitutional way," she sad in Pune.
"I have seen what the families of Bhujbal, Anil Deshmukh, Nawab Malik and Sanjay Raut had to go through. Devendra Fadnavis and the invisible power should give answer to this," she said. Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Sanjay Raut said he too had been warned that if he did not quit Sena and join BJP, he would face action by central agencies. His party colleague Anil Parab, NCP (SP)'s Anil Deshmukh and other key opposition functionaries too faced this pressure, Raut said. pti
The case against him had been closed when he was part of the previous government and he and his colleagues sided with BJP to ensure speedy development in their constituencies, he said. Bhujbal was responding to a claim in a book that he admitted that the ED case was a factor in his decision to part ways with NCP founder Sharad Pawar and support his nephew Ajit Pawar who split the party in July 2023.
"I have not read the book. I think it is a deliberate attempt to divert attention. We are in the middle of assembly elections. After the elections, I will consult my lawyers and take action if anything wrong has been attributed to me," he said.
"My case was closed when I was in the Uddhav Thackeray-headed government. I deny what is being attributed to me in the media," Bhujbal added. Bhujbal was arrested in an alleged money laundering case related to the construction of Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi. He was granted bail in 2018.
Earlier in the day, MP Supriya Sule of the Sharad Pawar-headed NCP (SP) cited excerpts from the book as published by a newspaper, and said they validate her allegations. "I have spoken in Parliament on numerous occasions about the misuse of central agencies. Rival parties are being broken up by an invisible power in an unconstitutional way," she sad in Pune.
"I have seen what the families of Bhujbal, Anil Deshmukh, Nawab Malik and Sanjay Raut had to go through. Devendra Fadnavis and the invisible power should give answer to this," she said. Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Sanjay Raut said he too had been warned that if he did not quit Sena and join BJP, he would face action by central agencies. His party colleague Anil Parab, NCP (SP)'s Anil Deshmukh and other key opposition functionaries too faced this pressure, Raut said. pti
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