Mumbai, Apr 12 (PTI) Shiv Sena Lok Sabha MP Gajanan Kirtikar on Friday said Narendra Modi was certain to become prime minister for a third consecutive time by the virtue of his performance and, therefore, “experiments” with the Enforcement Directorate must halt.
Mumbai North West MP Kirtikar said his son Amol Kirtikar, a part of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the party’s candidate from the seat for the upcoming polls, was being harassed by the ED in the alleged ‘khichdi’ scam.
“Amol was involved in the supply chain that provided khichdi to poor people during the Covid pandemic. Sanjay Mashelkar who got the contract was a Shiv Sena secretary. Amol and Suraj Chavan (who was arrested in the case) are not partners in the business but were only helping Mashelkar,” he said.
“It was a business so profits were shared with Amol by cheque and he has paid income tax for it as well. It is not a criminal offence. During the unprecedented pandemic situation, urgent decisions were required and vendors were needed,” Kirtikar claimed.
“The ED is harassing Amol despite investigations being complete. These ED experiments should stop. Modi will win anyway by the virtue of his work,” said Kirtikar, who asserted he would work for the ruling alliance candidate from the seat.
Taking a swipe, Kirtikar said the slogan “ab ki baar, 400 paar’ should not smack of arrogance but the state leadership of the BJP was behaving that way.
NDA partners like the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Union Minister Ramdas Athawale’s RPI(A) must be treated with respect and their participation was a must in decision making, he further said.
“You need the opposition as well or else how will Parliament run,” the MP asked.
Meanwhile, Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar said he did not agree with Kirtikar’s comments on “ED experiments”, adding that the latter should raise issues in his party’s forum rather than going public.
“What Kirtikar said is his personal opinion. If he feels ED action is wrong, then he should move the court,” Shelar said.
On Monday, the ED had questioned Amol Kirtikar for eight hours in connection with the alleged khichdi scam.
The case stems from an FIR of the Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing. It has said irregularities took place in the civic contracts for khichdi distribution. PTI MR BNM
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