Mumbai: Senior Congress leader Sachin Sawant on Saturday accused the Modi government of using central agencies for political vendetta, citing the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) move to seek closure of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) proceedings against Maharashtra minister Hasan Mushrif. He questioned BJP leader Kirit Somaiya’s silence over his 2,700-page complaint against Mushrif to the ED and the Income Tax Department, alleging that opposition leaders facing corruption charges were given a clean chit after joining the ruling alliance.
The Congress leader’s allegations came two days after a special PMLA court accepted the ED’s closure report in a 2022 money laundering case registered against Mushrif and his sons, citing the quashing of the linked predicate offences.
The money laundering probe stemmed from a complaint filed by the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Pune, in March 2022 over alleged violations of the Companies Act, and a subsequent FIR registered at Murgud police station in Kolhapur in February 2023 over the alleged fraudulent generation and manipulation of share capital raised from farmers.
Sawant, who is also the Congress national secretary and Telangana co-incharge, said the ED’s move to seek closure of the PMLA proceedings against Mushrif and his family members once again exposed the alleged political misuse of central investigative agencies by the Modi government. “To level serious corruption allegations against opposition leaders and then give them a clean chit once they join the BJP is the true hallmark of the Modi government’s ‘washing machine’ politics,” he said.
The Congress leader also alleged that the Modi government had been systematically misusing central agencies for the past 12 years to tarnish the image of opposition leaders, politically harass them and force them to surrender before the ruling establishment. “Hasan Mushrif surrendered, joined the NCP-Mahayuti alliance, and immediately the BJP’s washing machine started running. Those who had been facing serious allegations suddenly turned out to be squeaky clean! Would they have received this same relief if they had been in the opposition?” he asked in a post on X in Marathi.
Sawant also questioned why Somaiya, who had submitted a 2,700-page complaint against Mushrif to the ED and the Income Tax Department, was now silent. “Where has Kirit Somaiya gone now? Why is Somaiya, who submitted a 2,700-page complaint against Mushrif to the ED and the Income Tax Department, silent today? Where has his file of allegations gone now?” he asked.
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