Maharashtra won’t bow down before Centre: Supriya Sule on ED questioning Nawab Malik

PTI, Feb 23, 2022, 1:07 PM IST

Maharashtra has never bowed down before the Centre and it never will, NCP MP Supriya Sule said on Wednesday after the ED questioned state minister and her party leader Nawab Malik in a money laundering case.

The NCP was not surprised by the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) action, the Lok Sabha member from Maharashtra said, adding it was unfortunate that the Centre was using its machinery against the BJP’s political rivals in a “suppressive” manner. “It was expected, Nawab Bhai too had expected this. He had also tweeted in the past that he would keep tea and biscuits ready if the ED officials arrived at his home. Had they issued a notice (to Malik), they would have also got breakfast before leaving (Malik’s residence). But they did not issue a notice,” Sule told a TV channel.

Sule, who is the daughter of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, claimed the ED’s notice is issued only to opposition leaders. “Once you quit your own party and join them, then the notice disappears or goes into a shredder. We should know which shredder is this,” she said sarcastically without taking any name. Sule also claimed that “people in a certain party” know in advance if a leader is going to be raided or arrested.

The Lok Sabha member said BJP leaders use Twitter very well to comment about the central agency’s action. “They are doing this now, but life is a full circle,” she said.

“We are brought up in the culture of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Maharashtra has never bowed down before the Centre and Delhi, it never will,” she added.

The ED on Wednesday questioned Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister and NCP’s chief spokesperson Malik in a money laundering probe linked to the activities of the Mumbai underworld, fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides, officials said.

The probe agency’s move comes after registration of a new case and raids conducted by it on February 15 in Mumbai in connection with the operations of the underworld, linked to alleged illegal property deals and hawala transactions.