Sharad Pawar was speaking after an event where former Union minister Subodh Mohite joined the party. File
There was an attempt to harass Anil Deshmukh out of "frustration" as the investigation against him and his family has not revealed anything, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said today as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at the former's properties.
The ED on Friday searched Mr Deshmukh's houses in Nagpur and Mumbai. The NCP leader resigned as Maharashtra home minister in the aftermath of corruption allegations levelled by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh.
"Earlier some (Central) agencies had showered loving attention on the businesses of his son....As far as I know, they did not find anything. So out of frustration, there is an attempt to see if he (Anil Deshmukh) can be harassed in any other way," Mr Pawar said.
"All these things are not new to us. Anil Deshmukh is not the first (to face such action). A new trend of using power has been shown by those who are in power. There is no need to talk about that issue anymore. We are not at all worried about it," Mr Pawar told reporters here.
Asked about the state BJP passing a resolution to seek CBI inquiry against NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena minister Anil Parab, Mr Pawar said this was novel.
"A national party passing a resolution to demand a probe against the leaders of an opposition party was unheard of. (State BJP chief) Chandrakant Patil is an achiever, he can do things hitherto unseen and unheard of, so we are not surprised," Mr Pawar said.
He was speaking after a programme where former Union minister Subodh Mohite joined the NCP along with his supporters.