MUMBAI: NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday alleged that since the BJP failed to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, it was targeting close relatives and associates of the ministers in the state government.
Addressing a press conference, the veteran politician said that in his 56 years of career, he had never seen such "blatant misuse of power" by the central government. His statement comes days after the Income Tax sleuths searched the properties of relatives of NCP leader and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
"BJP has been trying to unstable Uddhav Thackeray-led government, but has failed in all its attempts. Therefore, as a new strategy, they are targeting the people who are close to or relatives of the ministers. The raid is not at Ajit Pawar but on the properties owned by his sisters and son. A similar thing happened with Congress minister Ashok Chavan and Shiv Sena minister Subhash Desai whose close associates and relatives were targetted by conducting raids," Pawar said.
Pawar also took jibe at former CM Devendra Fadnavis for his statement that he still felt like being the CM. "It is a good thing that I couldn’t feel so even though I was a four-time CM," Pawar said.
'Deputy CM's sisters have no big assets'
Pawar said the sisters of Ajit Pawar had nothing to do with politics. They were leading middle-class lives and did not own big properties but their houses were raided.