Reacting to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) attachment of a sugar factory linked to a relative of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) case, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana chief and farmer leader Raju Shetti on Friday questioned the timing of the ED’s action, while dubbing it as “politically motivated”.
The former two-time MP from Hatkanangale said that he had been pursuing the case for the last five years, but neither the ED nor the erstwhile BJP government in Maharashtra nor the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) nor any other agency had taken cognisance of his petitions.
“As the management of cooperative sugar factories in Maharashtra has been in the hands of political heavyweights, they have always acted in a prejudicial manner to interest of farmers. I had procured proof of money laundering pertaining to 89 individuals who ran 44 supposedly ‘sick’ sugar factories which were sold at throwaway prices. These individuals are either politicians across all parties or their kin,” Mr. Shetti said.
He said that he had met former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in March 2015 and had urged him to take action at the time. In April 2016, Mr. Shetti had knocked the doors of the ED’s main office in Delhi and had submitted a letter detailing the fraudulent manner in which the sugar factories were sold and purchased.
“In September the same year, I met EOW authorities and registered my complaint. I also registered a complaint at Shivajinagar police station in Pune regarding the same issue. However, no FIR was filed on the basis of my complaint. So, the question arises as to how come the ED has suddenly woken up now and begun taking action in this case? Had it been asleep all this while?” Mr. Shetti said.
The farmer leader, who was an NDA constituent till 2017, severed ties with the BJP. He had subsequently allied himself with the NCP and the Congress prior to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls but lost the Hatkanangale seat. Since then, Mr. Shetti has reverted to his initial ‘lone wolf’ roots, positioning himself as an important voice of farmer grievances.
Given the BJP-led Centre’s penchant for misusing Central agencies to pressure leaders of other political parties, Mr. Shetti said that it was highly suspicious that the ED was taking action based largely on his proofs today.
“The point is why only Mr. Pawar or his relatives must be investigated? Why not BJP leaders who had similarly purchased sugar factories by dubious financial transactions?” asked the farmer leader, stating that the management of these 40-odd cooperative sugar factories had deliberately incurred losses while hatching a criminal conspiracy with authorities of the MSCB by undervaluing factory assets.
The ED on Thursday provisionally attached land, machinery and buildings to the tune of ₹65.75 crore of Jarandeshwar Sahkari Sugar Karkhana (Jarandeshwar SSK) in Satara under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in a case related to alleged fraud at MSCB.
Meanwhile, anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare expressed satisfaction at the ED’s action in attaching the sugar factory run by Mr. Pawar’s relative and demanded similar action on 49 other sugar factories in the MSCB scam.
“I have been saying this for a long time. I had filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court in the same matter. Thanks to the ED’s action, the MSCB scam is finally coming to roost,” he said.
