ED action an attack on 'middle class Marathi manoos': Shiv Sena MP Raut

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut termed ED action to attach his property an attack on middle class Marathi manoos and asserted he will not be cowed by such moves and resist any act to pressurise him

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday termed Enforcement Directorate (ED) action to attach his property an attack on middle class Marathi manoos and asserted he will not be cowed by such moves and resist any act to pressurise him.

Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Raut pointed out that the ED action came on a day when the Mumbai Police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations of extortion against the central agency's officers.

Last month, the Rajya Sabha MP had alleged that some ED officers were running an extortion racket.

Raut said the ED's action is an act of vengeance and the agency's claim against him will fall flat.

The Shiv Sena leader also tweeted Asatyamev Jayate (lie has triumphed) after the action by the financial crimes probe agency.

The Rajya Sabha MP claimed he was being targeted by the BJP, a former ally of the Shiv Sena, as he did not support efforts to bring down the MVA government in Maharashtra.

The Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government also comprises the Congress and the NCP.

Your (the BJP) government could not be formed because of me. Now I am not supporting you in bringing down the government. This is an attempt to pressurise me, but I will now be cowed, he added.

The ED has attached eight land parcels in Alibaug in adjoining Raigad district and a flat in Mumbai's Dadar area linked to Raut and his family under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The attachment is linked to a money laundering probe related to a Rs 1,034 crore worth land 'scam' related to the re-development of a 'chawl' (old row tenements) in Mumbai.

The ED had arrested Maharashtra-based businessman Pravin Raut in this case in February and later filed a charge-sheet against him.

This (ED action to attach property) is an act of vengeance against middle class Marathi manoos (Marathi people). The entire Maharashtra should know about this, the Sena MP said.

"I am not scared of anyone. I will not bend. This is my hard-earned money, he added.

Raut said he received phone calls from several political leaders, including Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and NCP president Sharad Pawar, who expressed concern over the ED's action.