Shiv Sena Member of the Parliament (MP) Sanjay Raut, on Sunday, attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government for the ongoing raids and action against former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and alleged that the central agencies were functioning under someone’s pressure. It would be detrimental to the federal structure of the country. “Even when the state's investigating machinery is capable, the central agencies are being roped in through the back door. If these agencies are acting under pressure from someone, then this is extremely detrimental to the federal system,” he noted.
Raut’s move to slam the central government came days after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the residences of Deshmukh at Nagpur and Mumbai in connection with the money laundering case. He had also targeted the centre after Shiv Sena Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Pratap Sarnaik urged Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to team with the estranged ally BJP and, thereby, stop the harassment from central investigating agencies.
Raut compared ED with the British Raj and said that action is being taken against some leaders in the constituent parties of the Maha Vikas Aghadi.
In a related development, Shiv Sena, in its mouthpiece Saamna, slammed the central government for allegedly using the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED to pressurise non-BJP governments and political opponents in the country. “Even in the pre-independence period, people were not afraid of the tyrannical British rule. Today, rich politicians and industrialists submit before the ED and CBI. The ruling party uses such mechanisms to put pressure on its opponents," alleged Shiv Sena. The party further said that Maharashtra police and experts have a 'clear opinion' that the ED entered Deshmukh's house illegally for the raid.
"A large contingent of central police has surrounded Deshmukh's house. The ED acted as if Deshmukh was a dacoit of Chambal Valley. This entry is illegal; the Maharashtra Police and experts have a clear opinion. But no one is ready to speak and stand against the agency," it stated. “This is a direct attack on the autonomy of Maharashtra," said Shiv Sena in Saamana.