Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) wondered on Saturday whether Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar insinuated that the Centre uses investigating agencies to target the political rivals of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The NCP's reaction came in the wake of Ambedkar's remarks that there is nothing wrong if Prime Minister Narendra Modi uses the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
"If I were Modi, I would do the same to legally save my chair and sustain my party," Ambedkar had said. NCP spokesperson Clyde Crasto wondered whether Ambedkar meant that the Centre and the BJP are using the CBI and the ED for political benefits.
"This becomes a serious allegation because the BJP has consistently maintained that the CBI and the ED are independent agencies and it has never misused these agencies for political benefits or personal vendetta," Crasto said. "But Prakash Ambedkar's statement points a finger and insinuates that the central agencies are being used to save the chair and sustain the party," he added.
Crasto said Ambedkar must corroborate his statement and prove that what he has said is true. "The BJP too must prove that what Prakash Ambedkar is saying is false. If not, the people of India will begin to believe that the BJP is truly misusing the central agencies like the CBI and the ED," he said.
The NCP spokesperson's remarks indicate towards a growing unease within the opposition alliance, Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi, in Maharashtra over the Shiv Sena's decision to align with the VBA ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation polls.
