Mumbai, March 31 (PTI): Maharashtra's ruling coalition ally NCP on Thursday accused the central government of using its probe agencies to muzzle the voices of the BJP's political opponents.
Maharashtra NCP chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered 4,700 cases and arrested 313 people since the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) became effective in 2002.
Addressing a press conference here, Tapase said these figures were submitted by the Centre to the Supreme Court.
The NCP's attack on the Centre came on a day when the ED conducted searches at the house of a Nagpur-based lawyer, Satish Uke, who has filed several petitions against senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis in the last few years.
Tapase said the ED has carried out around 1,700 raids 2011 onwards and added that the Union finance ministry had recently informed that conviction of accused persons was secured from courts in very few cases registered under the PMLA.
We are seeing that an attempt is being made to settle scores with political opponents (of the BJP) through the agencies. The Centre is using its probe agencies to muzzle the voices of its (the BJP's) political opponents on a big scale, the NCP chief spokesperson alleged.
He said the conviction rate in cases registered under the PMLA will actually go up if political interference in functioning of the ED is avoided.
Tapase further said BJP leader Kirit Somaiya had filed a complaint before the ED against Union Minister Narayan Rane (in 2016) when the latter was in the Congress and asked what happened to that case.
Rane joined the BJP in 2019.
Has Rane got a clean chit? It should be disclosed, he said.
The NCP leader also attacked the central government over rising fuel prices, saying it has adversely affected common people.
The NCP is part of the Shiv Sena-led MVA government in which the Congress is also a constituent.