State ministers protest against the arrest of Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and several other state ministers on Thursday staged a sit-in protest against the arrest of Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case. Ajit Pawar was the first to reach the protest site near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi near the State Secretariat Mantralaya.
State Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil, Health Minister Rajesh Tope, Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat, Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil, Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Vijay Wadettiwar, Minister of State for Home Satej Patil and Minister of State for Tourism Aditi Tatkare also joined the protest.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule and State Women’s Commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar were also present during this. Speaking to reporters, Thorat claimed that central investigative agencies are being used to silence political rivals. “It is quite unfortunate and a dark chapter in the country’s history,” the Congress leader said.
NCP state unit chief Jayant Patil said the allegations against Malik were baseless. He said that Malik will answer all the charges against him of terrorism-related links in the court. He claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) attempt to oust the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government from power has not been successful so far. The action against the cabinet member is part of this.
According to news agency PTI, Shiv Sena councilor Manisha Kayande, who joined the dharna, claimed that for the last 27 months, the BJP is trying to destabilize the MVA government, which has done a very good job. The ED on Wednesday arrested Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Nawab Malik (62) in connection with its probe into a money laundering case. Malik was then produced before a special court dealing with money laundering cases, which remanded him to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till March 3.
Earlier, Malik was questioned for about six hours at the ED’s office in South Mumbai’s Ballard Estate area. The agency says that this investigation is related to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, his associates and the Mumbai underworld. Meanwhile, after a meeting of top leaders of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi on Wednesday evening, a senior NCP leader had said that there was no question of taking Malik’s resignation as he had not done anything wrong.
The MVA consists of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress. At the same time, BJP workers staged a sit-in outside the Pune Municipal Corporation office demanding the resignation of Nawab Malik.
Maharashtra | BJP workers hold a protest outside the Pune Municipal Corporation office, demanding the resignation of state minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik.
Malik has been remanded to ED custody till March 3, in a money laundering case. pic.twitter.com/gi3taBPns4
— ANI (@ANI) February 24, 2022
A video surfaced of BJP leader Mohit Kambhoj purportedly showing a sword during a protest organized against the arrest of Nawab Malik by the ED in a money laundering case. A police officer said that they are confirming the incident. After Malik’s arrest, some BJP workers burst firecrackers outside Kambhoj’s residence in the western suburb of Santacruz. One of the workers gave Kambhoj a sword, which he allegedly waved in the air. As soon as the video surfaced, the police team reached the spot to investigate the matter. “Our team has gone to the spot and the verification process is on,” the official said.
An FIR has been registered against former Mumbai BJP youth wing president Mohit Kambhoj for allegedly waving sword during a protest and violating COVID-19 norms, an official said on Thursday. The police registered an FIR against Kambhoj on Wednesday night under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code 188 (disobedience to order of public servant) and provisions of Arms Act and Maharashtra Police Act, the official said.
