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Vendetta politics, cries MNS ED works independently: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis clarified that his party had nothing to do with the ED notice.

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Opposition parties have strongly attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing them of using investigation agencies against leaders who are criticising the party-led government at the Centre and in Maharashtra. The outburst comes close on the heels of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoning Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) party chief Raj Thackeray and Unmesh Joshi, son of the former chief minister and Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi, in connection with a money-laundering probe in the IL&FS payment default case.

"These are nothing but bulldozing tactics by the BJP government against the opposition," said Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Balasaheb Thorat, adding, "Thackeray had raised several pertinent issues before the Lok Sabha elections and is now being targetted." He said the government was adopting "dictatorial tactics" to silence critics instead of tackling current issues such as inflation, unemployment, the economic crises and problems faced by farmers.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis clarified that his party had nothing to do with the ED notice. "ED works independently," he said on Monday. "I came to know about the notice from media reports. He should reply to it and not be scared if he is not guilty."

Notwithstanding Fadnavis' clarification, leader of opposition in the state council Dhananjay Munde said ED's notice was motivated by the fact that Thackeray had exposed BJP during the Lok Sabha election. "It is quite ironical that the government is giving a clean chit to ministers and leaders who have just joined the party, but targetting opposition leaders,'' he said.

Raju Shetti, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana founder and former MP, accused the BJP of engaging in vendetta-driven politics ahead of the state assembly elections in October. "The action has been initiated as Raj Thackeray had launched a drive against the use of electronic voting machines in the general elections," he said.

MNS spokesperson Sandeep Deshpande echoed this sentiment. "Raj Thackeray created a sensation during the Lok Sabha poll campaign earlier this year. It had a significant impact on people and to avoid a similar challenge ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly election, ED has issued the notice," he said, adding that ED has become a tool to suppress dissenting voices.

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