What Prompted Sharad Pawar's "Free Of Corruption Charges" Dig At PM

New Delhi:

Four of the nine Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLAs who switched sides to join the BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra, and were sworn in as cabinet ministers, are under the scanner of central probe agency Enforcement Directorate or the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) in various cases.

Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal, and Hasan Mushrif are under investigation for cases linked to money laundering.

Ajit Pawar, the nephew of Sharad Pawar, took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Sunday, for the third time since 2019. He sided with the BJP once again, weeks after his cousin Supriya Sule was announced the working president of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP. Ajit Pawar is accused in an alleged co-operative bank scam, and an irrigation scam.

The Economic Offences Wing is investigating allegations of irregularities in loans given by the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank. The ED has also filed a case to probe money laundering based on the allegations. The EOW had filed a closure report, claiming it found no evidence of wrongdoing in the case within a year of the Maha Vikas Aghadi coming to power in Maharashtra with Mr Pawar as the deputy chief minister.

The ED had opposed the EOW's stand in 2020, but its intervention was rejected by a special court. With BJP back in power in 2022, the EOW changed its stance and decided to continue with the probe.

In addition to the cooperative bank case, the Maharashtra ACB also began a court-monitored investigation on allegations of
irregularities in irrigation projects while Ajit Pawar was the Water Resources Minister in the Congress-NCP government. The ACB, however, gave him a clean chit a day after his rushed swearing in along with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis. The court hasn't yet accepted the report, and BJP leaders demanded a re-investigation when the MVA assumed power.

Sunil Tatkare, whose daughter Aditi Tatkare was sworn in, is also under the ACB's scanner in the irrigation scam case. Though not an accused, his name appears in the 2017 chragesheet filed by the ACB. A separate chargesheet was expected naming him, and the ED too begun a preliminary enquiry against Mr Tatkare in 2012 in connection with the same case.

Chhagan Bhujbal, another NCP heavyweight who was sworn in yesterday, is accused of irregularities in awarding contracts of over Rs 100 crore for three projects in 2006 when he was the state PWD minister. A separate case alleging money laundering was also filed by the ED. Mr Bhujbal, who started his political career with the Shiv Sena, defected to the Congress, and ultimately joined the NCP, spent two years in jail after his arrest in the case. Like Ajit Pawar, he too got a clean chit after MVA coming to power.

Mr Bhujbal is also accused in a Mumbai University corruption case.

Another NCP defector who took oath of office yesterday, Hasan Mushrif, has searches by the ED in Mumbai in connection with alleged irregularities in the functioning of Sar Senapati Santaji Ghorpade Sugar Factory Limited and companies linked to his family. Mr Mushri has called the case "a motivated conspiracy" and a "deliberate attempt" to get him involved in ED cases. He has earlier echoed charges from several Opposition leaders that the ED is being used for political vendetta.

Mr Mushrif's anticipatory bail plea was rejected by a special court in April. The Bombay High Court later granted him interim relief. The anticipatory bail pleas of his three sons, who are also being probed by the ED, are pending before the special court.

NCP working president Praful Patel, who also joined the government but wasn't sworn in as he is not an MLA, also faces ED probe in a case that also names dreaded gangster Dawood Ibrahim's aide Iqbal Memon alias Mirchi. Mr Patel had, however, denied any links with Mirchi. He has also not been named as an accused or mentioned in the chargesheet filed by the ED.

The ED had attached properties of former minister Praful Patel in the case last year. The attached property includes four floors in the prime property Ceejay House at Worli belonging to Mr Patel and his family.

Sharad Pawar yesterday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, thanking him for "clearing" the alleged corruption cases against some of the defectors.

"Two days ago the PM had spoken about NCP... He had said two things in his statement -- that NCP is a finished party. He mentioned irrigation complaint and allegations of corruption. I am happy that some of my colleagues have taken oath. From this, it is clear that all the charges have been cleared. I am thankful to him," Mr Pawar said.