Maharashtra: Sharad Pawar targets BJP, says its leaders don't face ED action

Nationalist Congress Party NCP founder Sharad Pawar on Sunday claimed that no BJP leader has faced action from the Enforcement Directorate ED since the party has been been in power reported the PTIOn the Election Commission EC recently recognising the faction led by his nephew Ajit Pawar as the real NCP and allotting the partys poll symbol Clock to his group Sharad Pawar said such a situation has never been witnessed in the country and the people will not support such a decisionAjit Pawar walked away with a majority NCP MLAs in the Maharashtra assembly in July last year and joined the Eknath Shindeled state governmentThe EC has allotted Nationalist Congress PartySharadchandra Pawar as the party name for the group led by Sharad PawarAccording to the PTI addressing an event in Pune Sharad Pawar claimed that misuse of power is evident when anyone opposes the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party BJPThe ED has conducted investigations across the country with 6000 cases registered from 2005 to 2023 But substantial findings were obtained in 25 cases and 85 per cent of the cases involved political leaders from the opposition he claimed as per the PTISince the BJP has been in power from 2014 no leader from the party has faced action from the ED Moreover investigations against BJP leaders were halted after the party came to power he further claimed at the Aarogya Doot Abhiyan organised by his party in Maharashtras PuneLater when reporters at a press conference asked him about the ECs decision on the NCP name and symbol the Rajya Sabha member said he had contested his first election on the symbol of a pair of bullocksThoughts and ideology are more important than any symbol he saidThe ECs decision is surprising Our political party was given to other people such a situation was never witnessed in the country I believe that people will not support such a decision We will have a discussion on the new name and symbol on Monday he said the PTI reported on SundayAsked about attack on journalist Nikhil Wagle Sharad Pawar said a person was attacked in Pune and a car was vandalisedIt is a worrying situation It is an unfortunate incident and the state and the Centre should take note of this he saidTo a query on the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency he said I am not going to contest the upcoming elections People from Baramati are straight and simple They will take the right decisionBaramati in Pune district is the political turf of PawarsAsked about the Citizenship Amendment Act Sharad Pawar said Implementing the CAA is not right Lets see what happens next weekUnion Home Minister Amid Shah has said the CAA enacted in 2019 will be implemented before the Lok Sabha polls after issuing the rules in this regardThe CAA seeks to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted nonMuslim migrants including Hindus Sikhs Jains Buddhists Parsis and Christians from Bangladesh Pakistan and Afghanistan who entered India before December 31 2014On seatsharing talks for the upcoming elections Sharad Pawar said Talks are underway on seatsharing with the Prakash Ambedkarled Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi We are asking them for their programmes ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls the news agency reportedwith PTI inputs