Mumbai, May 22 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will on Monday question Maharashtra Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Jayant Patil in connection with his role in the alleged IL&FS scam.
Patil, who was summoned last weekjust as the Karnataka election results were being declared on May 13 when the Congress was voted to power, had sought time from the central agency and he will appear on Monday for the probe.
The ED summons to Patil triggered statewide protests from the NCP and the Nationalist Youth Congress Party (NYCP) activists, and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies like Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), with many supporters trooping to Mumbai from his home town Islampur in Sangli.
The NCP and NYCP activists demonstrated outside the ED office in south Mumbai, raising slogans, waving posters, placards and banners slamming the central probe agency.
“We want the ED to probe ‘all the corrupt elements in the Bharatiya Janata Party instead of targeting only the Opposition parties or leaders’ to please their political masters,” said NYCP President Mahebub Shaikh leading the protests near the ED office.
The protesters said that any corrupt persons join the BJP, they are “whitewashed” and all corruption cases against them are dropped, but the central agencies like ED pursue a vendetta against the Opposition.
As the protests heated up, Patil said that he will go to the ED office around noon as per the agency’s summons, and appealed to his partymen not to crowd outside during his presence there.
“I have been getting calls from leaders and workers in my party and even the other alliance partners. I appeal to all my party leaders and activists not to come to Mumbai. I shall fully cooperate with the ED probe and am grateful for your affection,” said Patil.
–IANS
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