MVA insulates Anil Parab, calls out BJP

The Maha Vikas Aghadi displayed a show of strength and unity after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackerayrsquos most trusted lieutenants was raided by the Enforcement Directorate ED on Thursday In addition to action against Thackerayrsquos brotherinlaw Shridhar Patankar the search at the premises of the transport and legislative affairs minister was seen as the biggest development so farMany leaders from the Shiv Sena and the MVA government are under the scanner of the ED and other central agencies including former minister Anil Deshmukh and sitting Cabinet minister Nawab Malik who are in custodyCloseness to ThackeraysParab is one of the most important people in the CMrsquos personal and political inner circle Trusted equally by the late Balasaheb Thackeray the threetime MLC is a strategist in the party affairs and incharge of the cityrsquos western suburbs A trained lawyer he has been loyal to the family through thick and thin Parab rose from the ranks and made it big in 2019 when he was inducted in Thackerayrsquos Cabinet He attained the status of the third important leader after the CM and his minister son Aaditya Thackeray The MVA on Thursday said the lsquovictimsrsquo will fight the vindictive agenda while the BJP said the actions against all leaders will be taken to the logical end The state Cabinet met in the afternoon as scheduled but Parab couldnrsquot attend it The ministers decried the development Later in the day CM Thackeray NCP boss Sharad Pawar Congress leaders and several ministers accompanied the Senarsquos Rajya Sabha candidates Sanjay Raut and Sanjay Pawar to the Vidhan Bhavan where they filed their nominations for the June 10 Rajya Sabha polls ldquoWersquore used to it now It is a political vendetta They are wrong if they think they can win the elections by putting pressure on us through the probe agencies We the MVA will win all seatsrdquo said Raut who is also the partyrsquos chief spokesperson ldquoThe action will not weaken Senarsquos fight against the BJP but make us even stronger in our resolverdquo he added Raut said the BJP leaders have committed offences that are more serious in nature but no action has been taken against them despite handing over the documents ldquoThe state politics has not seen such a low The MVA and the government will not buckle under any pressurerdquo Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said he expected an unbiased investigation and added that some people knew what would happen next He was indirectly referring to BJPrsquos former MP Kirit Somaiya who is a complainant in many cases including those involving Parab and Pawarrsquos relatives who were raided in a sugar mill case Suggesting Parabrsquos arrest Somaiya said the minister should pack a bag of clothes ldquoAfter Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik itrsquos Parabrsquos turn nowrdquo he added He reiterated the allegations against Parab expecting the agency to arrest yet another Sena leader former chairman of the civic standing committee Yashwant Jadhav State BJP president Chandrakant Patil said the affected parties and leaders should move courts if the action was an act of revenge