While the BJP at the Centre and states is always targeted over the summons by Enforcement Directorate (ED) and other central agencies, Shiv Sena MLA Deepak Kesarkar, who is the spokesperson of Eknath Shinde led faction on Friday said that the ED in Maharashtra now means 'E' for Eknath Shinde and 'D' for Devendra Fadvanis.
Coincidentally, Sena MP Sanjay Raut today appeared before the ED to record his statement in connection with a money laundering probe.
Kesarkar said that NCP chief Sharad Pawar called the newly inducted Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and congratulated him. Pawar also told Shinde, "you belong to Satara so I expect many things from you for the district."
"There is a rule of ED now but it’s not that ED. ED here means 'E' for Eknath Shinde &'D' for Devendra Fadvanis," Kesarkar said in Goa.
Further speaking about Uddhav Thackeray, Kesarkar said that the former is a big stature leader and we won’t speak against him.
"We will speak to him at the right time and all the misunderstandings will be sorted out," Kesarkar added.
Earlier in the day, Thackeray questioned the BJP's decision to install a "so-called Shiv Sainik" as Maharashtra CM when it did not keep its 2019 promise of rotating the top post.
Addressing a press conference at Shiv Sena Bhavan, the party headquarters at Dadar in central Mumbai, Thackeray also made a fervent appeal to the Ekanth Shinde-led government not to go ahead with the Metro-3 car shed project at Aarey Colony.
Thackeray asked the BJP why it first denied that there was no agreement on rotational chief minister two-and-a-half years ago. Had the BJP agreed, the change of power would have happened in a graceful and dignified manner, he said.
His remarks came a day after Shinde was sworn in as the 20th chief minister of Maharashtra, while Fadnavis took oath as the deputy chief minister, just 24 hours after the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
(with agency inputs)
