Will donate my wealth to BJP if it is proved to be ill-gotten: Sanjay Raut

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clashed after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached the assets of senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut's wife, and his associates, on Tuesday. The state's ruling parties said the act was politically motivated while the opposition denied the charge. Sena's Aaditya Thackeray decried the action.

Whatever is happening in the country is not politics but political vendetta and pressure tactics," Thackeray told reporters. "It is said that the actions are a fallout of the Sena parting ways with the BJP. One has to think whether we still have democracy," he added.

Sanjay Raut says he will not buckle under pressure. File pic

A couple of weeks ago, the ED had provisionally attached the assets of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's brother-in-law Shridhar Patankar in another case. Following this, Thackeray had challenged the BJP to put him in jail instead of troubling his family, friends and party leaders.

‘No notice served'

Raut said he was not scared and would not buckle under pressure, adding that the BJP wanted him to bring the MVA government down. He said the action came on the day the state government formed a special investigation team to probe the allegations that he has levelled against ED officials. "I will quit politics and donate all the property to the BJP if it is proved that we have ill-gotten money," he said. He also said his family was not served any notice before the flat where he stays was attached.

Aaditya Thackeray, Shiv Sena leader

Senior MVA leaders from the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) blamed the action on BJP's political agenda. State NCP president Jayant Patil and his Congress counterpart Nana Patole joined the Sena leadership in criticising the BJP.

Patra chawl connection?

The ED attached assets worth Rs 11.15 crore of three people, including Raut's wife Varsha, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the redevelopment of the Rs 1,034 crore Patra chawl project in Mumbai by a subsidiary of Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL).

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya said that fearing action, Raut had deposited Rs 55 lakh which was taken as an unsecured loan from one of the accused in the said case. He tweeted that he has requested the ED and Income Tax Department to probe Raut's role in the Patra chawl case. Denying political agenda, State BJP president Chandrakant Patil said Raut should not fear anything if he was innocent.