The Enforcement Directorate had sent Sanjay Raut a second summons to appear before July 1
Bombay:
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said today that he would appear before the Office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) tomorrow after the investigative agency rejected his request to allow some extra time for his appearance in connection with a money laundering case.
The Enforcement Directorate had sent him a second summons to appear before July 1, after failing to appear on his first summons on Monday due to the then political crisis in Maharashtra.
In particular, Mr Raut is under investigation in connection with the redevelopment of Patra Chawl in Mumbai. His lawyer had requested 13-14 days to submit the documents to the investigative agency, but the request was denied by the agency.
“I am going to the Office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) tomorrow,” said the leader of Shiv Sena as he spoke to the media here.
Referring to the resignation of Uddhav Thackeray from the post of Chief Minister on Wednesday evening, he said Shiv Sena will work and come back to power “under his own power”.
“Shiv Sena was not born for power, power is born for Shiv Sena. This has always been Balasaheb Thackeray’s mantra. We will work and get back to power on our own,” he said.
Mr Raut said interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar have confidence in Uddhav Thackeray.
“We got emotional yesterday when Uddhav Thackeray resigned as Chief Minister. Everyone has faith in Uddhav Thackeray; people of every caste and religion support him. Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar trust him,” he said.
Meanwhile, the secretary of the Maharashtra assembly, Rajendra Bhagwat, has informed all MLAs of the state that according to the governor’s orders, the special session scheduled for Thursday will now not be convened.
The Floor Test convened by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was challenged in the Supreme Court by the Shiv Sena. However, the Supreme Court declined to postpone the Floor Test, saying in its comment that the House floor was the only way to resolve these issues of democracy.
Minutes after the Supreme Court order, Thackeray addressed the people of the state via social media announcing his decision to resign as prime minister and a member of the Legislative Council.
The announcement ended the political crisis that erupted in the state for more than a week with a faction of Shiv Sena MLAs rising up against him for joining hands with NCP and Congress to form the government.
Meanwhile, the stage is set for the return of a BJP-led government to the state, with the party, the largest party in the Maharashtra assembly with 106 MLAs, likely claiming to form the government.
As leader of the opposition, Devendra Fadnavis will claim the post of Chief Minister for the third time. Mr Fadnavis, who met the party’s top twice a week in Delhi, said the future action will be announced today.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)
