Shiv Sena MP Bhavana Gawali's woes continue as ED summons her in money laundering case

In more trouble for Shiv Sena MP Bhavana Gawali, the Enforcement Directorate has summoned her on October 20 in connection with a money laundering case. Earlier on September 28, her aide Saeed Khan was arrested in the investigation pertaining to public trust 'Mahila Utkarsh Pratisthan'. The ED has alleged that Gawali criminally conspired to convert the public trust into a non-profit company under Section 8 of the Companies Act through her aide Khan and his accomplices using forgery and fraud. According to the central agency, the firm was allegedly aimed at siphoning off funds.

Shiv Sena leaders under scanner

In the last few months, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut has often accused the Centre of using Central agencies to destabilise the Maharashtra government. For instance, his wife Varsha Raut has been questioned by the ED in the PMC Bank scam investigation. Moreover, Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik is also under the scanner of the ED in connection with the Tops Grup case and the National Spot Exchange Limited money laundering case. 

Interestingly on June 1, Sarnaik wrote to Uddhav Thackeray throwing weight behind the Sena-BJP alliance. The letter stated, ''The Municipal Corporation elections in Mumbai, Thane and other cities are scheduled next year. Even though our alliance with BJP no longer exists, personal connection and affection for many BJP leaders remain the same for many Shiv Sena leaders. It will be wise to repair the relationship before it gets worse.' He opined that approchement with PM Modi will ensure that the harassment endured by him, Ravindra Waikar and Anil Parab will come to an end.

Parab, who holds the portfolios of Transport and Parliamentary Affairs, faced criticism from BJP based on the claims of sacked Mumbai cop Sachin Vaze. In a handwritten statement, Vaze alleged that Parab had insisted on him extorting Rs 50 crore from the trustees of the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust in July/August 2020 to close the inquiry against the latter. He also recalled an incident from January 2021 where the Maharashtra Transport Minister allegedly instructed him to collect at least Rs 2 crore each from 50 "fraudulent" contractors listed with the BMC. 

In his Dussehra speech on October 15, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray dared BJP to fight Shiv Sena electorally. He affirmed, "If you have the guts, fight us directly, not via ED, CBI, I-T. Challenging and hiding behind the police is a sign of immaturity, not masculinity and not Hindutva at all".