Pratap Sarnaik submits breach of privilege notice against media outlets

Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik on Monday submitted a breach of privilege motion against media outlets for carrying a fake story based on actor Kangana Ranaut’s tweets that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) found a Pakistani credit card at his house during a raid.

Mr. Sarnaik and his sons’ houses were searched by the ED two weeks ago in an alleged money laundering case involving a security agency. In his notice, Mr. Sarnaik said, “ED called me and my son for inquiry and we are cooperating with the agency. But after a tweet from Kangana Ranaut, electronic and print media published a news story against me which was defamatory and baseless. Even though the ED has been probing me, I want to clarify that nothing illegal has been found during those raids.”

He added, “This is absolutely baseless and incorrect. It is defamatory and therefore request you to forward the notice to the privilege committee of the Assembly for further action.” Mr. Sarnaik, however, did not name any news outlets.

Mr. Sarnaik was in the news for moving a breach of privilege motion against Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami for using ‘derogatory’ language against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Last week, he appeared before the ED for questioning in a matter involving money laundering related to a private firm. The ED has claimed suspicious transactions between a private firm, Tops Securities Group, and Mr. Sarnaik.