MUMBAI: A day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued summons to his wife Varsha Raut in connection with the PMC Bank money laundering case, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut Monday said targeting women of a household was an “act of cowardice”. “Targeting women of a household is an act of cowardice. We are not scared of anyone and will respond accordingly. ED needed some papers and we have submitted them in time,” Raut told reporters at a press conference.
In the last one year, Sharad Pawar, Eknath Khadse and Pratap Sarnaik got notices and now you all are discussing my name. All these people are crucial for government formation in Maharashtra. These are pieces of paper, nothing else,” he further said. Raut told reporters that BJP leaders had a list of 22 MLAs of the Congress and the NCP with them “who will be made to resign under the pressure of the Central investigating agencies”. “I have been doing regular correspondence with the ED for the last one-and-a-half months regarding a Rs.50 lakh loan taken by my wife ten years ago from a friend to purchase a house,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.
He said all the details regarding this loan had already been submitted to the ED during the correspondence. Sanjay’s wife, Varsha Raut on Sunday was asked to appear before the federal agency in Mumbai. This was the third summons issued to her after she skipped the earlier two on health grounds, they said. The summons for questioning has been issued to her under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). “When the ED itself did not mention that the correspondence was regarding the PMC Bank scam case and HDIL, then how can BJP leaders say so?” he asked. Raut, the chief spokesperson of the Uddhav Thackeray- led party, said his wife is a teacher.
