'If You Have Guts Then Kill Dawood': Maha CM Uddhav Thackeray to BJP After Raids, Nawab Malik's Arrest

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday presented a challenge to the BJP-led government at the Centre in the assembly, seemingly agitated by Shiv Sena leader Nawab Malik’s arrest and recent raids by the Enforcement Directorate on his brother-in-law. He asked, “Where is Dawood? Does anyone know where he is? You fought last elections in the name of Ram Mandir. Now, are you going to ask for votes in the name of Dawood? Did Obama ask for votes in the name of Laden? If you have guts then kill Dawood, will you?”

Thackeray was referring to Malik’s arrest in connection with a money laundering case tied to underworld gangster Dawood Ibrahim. He accused the BJP-led government of using central agencies, such as the ED, to “bother and harass” leaders of other parties and said the saffron block did not even spare family members in what he called a quest to grab power.

Thackeray said if the BJP at the Centre wanted to jail him to come to power, it could do so but it should not harass family members. He hit out at the saffron party, three days after the ED froze his brother-in-law’s assets worth Rs 6.45 crore in an alleged case of money laundering.

“The way you have attacked my family and (want to) put me in jail… what is the use of exposing all these things? Court sees proof and decides… Put me in jail, I am not Krishna but can you say that you are not Kans? Thackeray asked.

“If you want to come to power, then come to power. But don’t do all these vicious things to come to power. Don’t harass our or anyone else’s family members. We never bothered your family members,” he added.

The ED conducted raids on Thackeray’s brother-in-law two weeks after the Income Tax department raided some people considered close to his son and environment minister Aaditya Thackeray as well as Sena leader Anil Parab. The Sena has accused the BJP of political vendetta.

Saying opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis “must be recruited by the ED”, Thackeray made more accusations. He asked, “If Nawab Malik had a connection with Dawood Ibrahim for years, what were the central agencies doing for so many years? The matter is in court. I think LoP (leader of opposition) Fadnavis must be recruited by the ED as he gave all the documents to the ED as he said somewhere.”

Calling out the BJP for demanding the resignation of Malik, he said, “You ask for the resignation of Nawab Malik. Tell me first, why did you support Mehbooba Muftim who had sympathy for Afzal Guru and Burhan Wani?”

Sena MP Sanjay Raut had claimed that the ED action against Thackeray’s brother-in-law stemmed from “political vendetta and portends monstrous dictatorship”. Raut had accused judiciary, administration and central probe agencies of behaving as if they were “slaves to dictatorial tendencies” and added justice could not be expected from courts in the atmosphere prevailing at present.

The ED said it had attached assets worth Rs 6.45 crore of a company owned by Shridhar Madhav Patankar, Thackeray’s brother-in-law, in connection with a money laundering investigation. Raut also said the BJP should wake up if it thought the MVA government in the state could be brought down by pressurising its main pillar, a reference to the Sena.

At Baramati, NCP president Sharad Pawar, too, alleged “misuse” of the machinery by the Centre. He said such misuse of the resources by the Centre was the biggest issue the country had.

Referring to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee, who, too, was called to New Delhi for probe by a central agency, Raut said during the 10-year Congress-led UPA regime (2004-2014), a maximum of 22 to 23 actions were taken by the ED. But the ED’s actions have gone up manifold after the Narendra Modi-led government was formed.

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