‘ED, CBI target Oppn’: Chennithala after ED arrests alleged aide of Aaditya Thackeray

Reacting to the arrest of Suraj Chavan, an alleged close aide of Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, Congress leader in charge of the Maharashtra unit of the party Ramesh Chennithala said on Thursday that the central investigation agencies are targeting opposition leaders.

He asked whether any BJP worker was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) during the regime of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
“The opposition is being targeted by the CBI and ED. Is any BJP worker arrested by the ED?” Chennithala told reporters here.

ED arrested Suraj Chavan in connection with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Khichdi COVID scam case on Wednesday night.
Chavan was alleged to have been involved in financial irregularities worth Rs 1 crore linked to the distribution of “khichdi” to migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chennithala, who recently took charge as Congress in-charge of Maharashtra, however, said that the arrest was an attempt to oppress the opposition.

“It is an attempt to oppress the opposition… But the opposition will go forward and the I.N.D.I.A. Alliance will be successful,” he said.
In June last year, ED conducted raids at 15 locations in Mumbai, including Suraj Chavan’s residence and recovered documents in connection with the scam.

It is also a case of money laundering registered against businessman Sujit Patkar, an alleged close aide of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, and others.

Last year, the raids were also conducted at locations associated with some officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and some other people, including IAS officer Sanjeev Jaiswal, in connection with the COVID-19 hospital management contracts.
ED’s money laundering case against Chavan and others is based on an FIR filed in September 2023 by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police.