Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the deliberate targeting of leaders in the ruling MVA alliance in Maharashtra by central agencies was harmful for the country’s federal structure. Raut was responding to a query by reporters on the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoning former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh in a money laundering case.

Deshmukh was asked to depose before the investigating officer at the ED’s office in Mumbai on Saturday in the money laundering case related to an alleged multi-crore bribery-cum-extortion racket, that led to his resignation from the post of home minister in April. However, the NCP leader, whose party shares power with the Shiv Sena and Congress in Maharashtra, sought a fresh date for appearance before the agency.