Nawab Malik, a minister in the Maharashtra government, has been arrested. The ED has arrested him in the money laundering case. He has been sent to ED custody till March 3. This one arrest has brought political upheaval in the politics of Maharashtra. BJP is demanding the resignation of Nawab Malik. Maharashtra BJP President Chandrakant Patil has said that Nawab Malik has now been arrested, he should resign. We demand that he quit his post immediately. There are many such ministers in the Maharashtra government, against whom there are many allegations.
The list is very long, I will get tired of speaking on my own. For now, this matter has increased the trouble of the Maharashtra government and CM Uddhav Thackeray himself has come into action. His meeting with Sharad Pawar is going on. Many ministers and MLAs have also attended the meeting. It is getting news that NCP is not going to demand the resignation of Nawab Malik yet. According to the state government, he is not going to bow down to the allegations of BJP. By the way, the decision which has been taken in the meeting, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also put it in front of Sharad Pawar. Before the meeting, Mamata Banerjee also called and talked to Sharad Pawar on this issue. Then he had said that there is a need to form a united opposition to face the BJP. Sharad Pawar has also given a big statement on this whole ruckus.
According to him, BJP has been taking such action in the past as well. He said that the action being taken against Nawab Malik is not a new thing. This is an example of the way the system is being misused. We knew that such an incident would happen today or tomorrow. Nawab Malik speaks openly in front of everyone, so this action has been taken against him. So there is no need to say much on this. It is not known which case is being filed against Nawab Malik. If any worker is a Muslim, then allegations are made by saying that he has a connection with Dawood, this is not a new thing, these people have always been doing this. But no one knows what is the truth. Pawar further said that similar allegations were made against me when I was the Chief Minister of the state. Similarly, an attempt is being made to defame Nawab Malik by taking out the 25-year-old controversy.
This is abuse of power. Those who speak against the central government are harassed in the same way. It has been reported that the ED reached the residence of Nawab Malik at five o'clock this morning. Then at 7 o'clock a notice was given to him by the ED and at 7.45 he was brought to the office of the investigating agency. Then he was interrogated there for about eight hours and he was arrested at three in the afternoon. For information, let us tell you that many serious allegations have been made against Nawab Malik by the ED. His relations with the underworld have been told, benami property has come to the fore and it has also been said that Malik is not cooperating with the agency in the investigation. He was interrogated for about eight hours, there were many questions and answers and then the arrest was made. Now BJP is definitely demanding his resignation on Malik's arrest, but other leaders of the opposition have come in support of the minister.