Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar has come out in defense of his grandson, NCP MLA Rohit Pawar, who is currently facing action from the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Pawar accuses the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of misusing central agencies like the ED against opposition parties, highlighting the agency’s extensive budgetary allocation and questioning its conviction rate.
Speaking to reporters at his Modibaug residence in Pune, Pawar presented data indicating that the ED has registered a total of 5,806 cases between 2005 and 2023. However, only 25 cases have been disposed of, resulting in a meager disposal rate of 0.42% and a conviction rate of just 0.40%. Pawar draws attention to the ED’s budget, which has surged from ₹300 crore in 2022 to ₹404 crore in the current year.
The recent ED action against Rohit Pawar, in connection with the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam case, prompted Sharad Pawar to label the agency as a “supporting party” of the BJP. He alleges that the government is employing agencies like the ED to instill fear among opposition leaders.
In a comparative analysis, Pawar points out that during the UPA regime, the ED investigated 26 leaders, including five from the Congress and three from the BJP. This, according to him, indicates that the ED’s actions were not politically motivated during that period. However, since 2014, no BJP leader has faced questioning by the ED.
Among those who have faced ED action, Pawar highlights the absence of any BJP leaders, emphasizing that the investigations targeted a sitting Chief Minister, a former Chief Minister, 14 ministers, 24 MPs, 21 MLAs, 7 former MPs, and 11 former MLAs. He expresses concern about the state of democracy and points to the recent resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel, raising apprehensions ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, expected to be announced around March 15 or 16.
