NCP leaders oppose ED questioning Nawab Malik without notice

Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil on Wednesday accused the Centre of engaging in vendetta and objected to the questioning of his cabinet colleague Nawab Malik by the Enforcement Directorate ED in a money laundering case without any noticeNCP leader and former Rajya Sabha member Majeed Memon said the party will not keep quiet and fight lawfully till the end if the action against Malik is motivated by politics and being carried out with some vengeance and malice and asked the ED officials not to be their political masters slaveThe ED on Wednesday questioned state Minority Affairs Minister and NCPs chief spokesperson Malik in a money laundering probe linked to the activities of the Mumbai underworld fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides officials saidWalse Patil said NCP leaders stand firmly with MalikThe Union government has used central agencies with vendetta to target several people Malik is an honourable minister of the state It was required to issue him a notice if he is to be investigated in any case the NCP leader saidBut the notice was not served He was taken from his home early morning to the ED office This is against democracy and the common mans rightsiquest the state home minister saidHe said it is being seen that whenever central agencies take action somebody has talked about it earlier either on TV or TwitterThis means it is all done in a predecided manner and selectively I am of the opinion that Malik is innocentiquest he saidWalse Patil also said the state Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA government comprising the Shiv Sena NCP and Congress is not in trouble and will complete its tenureSpeaking to reporters separately Memon questioned the timing of the action He said the ED was questioning Malik linking the latter to the underworld and in connection with a land purchased 17 years agoA 17yearold matter is being raked up now I want to ask the ED humbly what is the basis for opening the case now The judges will ask you tomorrow how come you woke up after 17 years Why did you not probe this in 2005 he saidMemon said Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Devendra Fadnavis had talked about the land scam four months agoWhy did ED not act for four months Wasnt the ED aware of this It was all in the public domain he saidMemon also asked the ED officials to not be slaves of their political masters and not a pawn in anyones handsYou are the slave of law justice and the Constitution of India Dont become a victim of race between political parties he addedIf the ED thinks Malik is involved in any crime then it should investigate maintaining the secrecy and not publicize the same on TV the NCP leader saidWhat you are doing is against law and justice It is violating your own course of investigation The courts have said many times that the investigation in important matters has to be carried out maintaining secrecy It need not be publicized secrecy is the hallmark of a fair investigation he saidMemon also accused BJP leader and former state CM Fadnavis of not getting sleep at night for want of powerWe have nothing to say if they are doing something legal But if they are doing something motivated by politics if they are doing something with vengeance and malice then we are the last people to keep quiet he saidOur party will not remain silent if you misuse the lawiquestWe will agitate from day one till the end and fight lawfully he saidMemon also picked holes in Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman comments where she had rubbished charges against the BJPled central government of using central agencies against political opponentsI want to tell her Madam you are holding the finance portfolio The home ministry should speak about it I would also ask the home ministry about the misuse of central agencies during the past seveneight years especially during the second term of the NDA after 2019 he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever