In this case, the ED also arrested Maharashtra-based businessman Pravin Raut in February and later filed a charge sheet.
Digital Desk: After the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached properties belonging to Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday, the Shiv Sena MP appeared unfazed, saying that he was not afraid of anyone and that the truth would win out in the end.
"... I'm not the one who will be terrified. Seize my property, shoot me, or imprison me. Sanjay Raut is a Shiv Sainik and a follower of Balasaheb Thackeray; he will fight and expose everyone. I'm not one to sit quietly and watch them dance. The truth will triumph," Raut said to the reporters.
The ED attached eight land parcels in Alibaug and a flat in Mumbai's Dadar suburb earlier today in connection with a Rs 1,034 crore Patra Chawl land scam case involving Raut and his family.
The investigation agency has attached Raut's properties for his possible involvement in a money laundering case related to the redevelopment of the Patra Chawl in Mumbai.
Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED has issued a provisional attachment to freeze the plots and flats.
In this case, the ED also arrested Maharashtra-based businessman Pravin Raut in February and later filed a charge sheet.
The NCP criticised the ED action, alleging that the BJP was using central investigation agencies to silence the voices of MVA leaders in Maharashtra and engaging in hatred politics.
"The BJP government at the Centre is abusing its intelligence agencies to silence political opponents' voices. So what is the situation (in Maharashtra)? This is the politics of grudge that is taking place in Maharashtra," Mahesh Tapase, chief spokesperson for the Maharashtra NCP, said in a video statement.
Further, he accused the BJP of aiming at Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders because the NDA constituent was unable to form a government in the state following the 2019 Assembly elections.
Following the 2019 Assembly elections, the Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress joined forces to form the MVA after the Sena severed ties with long-time ally BJP over chief ministerial tenure sharing.
Dilip Walse Patil, the Home Minister of Maharashtra, also called the ED move a "clear political grudge and claimed that no summons was served on Raut. "Our government is strong and will continue to exist. We will complete five years," he added.
In response to the ED action, the Maharashtra minister and chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's son Aaditya Thackeray stated, "Whatever is happening is part of a political grudge and is not democratic."
Notably, last month Raut claimed in a press conference that some ED officers were acting as "an ATM" for the BJP.
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