Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently attached assets worth Rs 6.45 crore of a company owned by Shridhar Madhav Patankar, the brother-in-law of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, in connection with a money-laundering investigation. A number of politicians and ministers of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government have faced ED action in the past.
NCP leader and minister in the Thackeray cabinet Nawab Malik was arrested by the ED last month on money laundering charges.


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Addressing these developments, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray in Assembly lashed out at the BJP. "If Nawab Malik had a connection with Dawood Ibrahim for years, what were central agencies doing for so many years? The matter is in court. I think Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis must be recruited by ED as he gave all the documents to ED, as he said somewhere!" Thackeray said at the Assembly. 


He went on to ask, "You ask for the resignation of Nawab Malik. Tell me first, why did you support Mehbooba Mufti who had sympathy for Afzal Guru and Burhan Wani?"


Slamming BJP further, Thackeray questioned BJP if they will have the guts to kill Dawood even if they actually knew where he is. "Where is Dawood? Does anyone know where is he? You fought last elections in the name of Ram Mandir. Now, are you going to ask for votes in the name of Dawood? Did (Barack) Obama ask for votes in the name of (Osama bin) Laden? If you have guts then kill Dawood, will you?" he asked. 


Accusing the BJP of going after him and his family, Thackeray said, "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?"


(With ANI inputs)


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