assembly-elections

Updated: Jul 11, 2020 16:19 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi again invoked Article 370 addressing a campaign rally in Maharashtra’s Akola district on Wednesday and said those questioning references to the decision on Jammu and Kashmir’s status in Maharashtra polls should be ashamed.

PM Modi also targeted Nationalist Congress Party leaders over allegations of underworld connections. “The new revelations indicate why offenders of bomb blast cases escaped from the country,” he said without naming anyone.

“You remember bomb blasts in Maharashtra targeting trains, buses and other establishments. The masterminds of the crime also escaped to an enemy country. As we all want to know how they escaped, the new revelations are clearing the picture. Who all had, what kind of business relations with them,” Modi said.

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“These politicians from Maharashtra were aware of the fact that they will be exposed one day and thus were trying to defame the central government, investigation agencies since last few months, so that they could save themselves. But time has changed and the country will take answer for all their actions,” he further added.

PM Modi’s swipe was a reference to news reports about the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that summoned senior NCP leader Praful Patel on Friday in connection with a money laundering investigation related to assets of Iqbal Mirchi, a close aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

Dawood Ibrahim is an accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts and is now a fugitive harboured by and living in Pakistan.Iqbal Mirchi died in 2013.

Praful Patel didn’t respond to calls and text messages.

Patel has, however, countered the ED charge at a press conference on Tuesday where he insisted that there was no financial transaction or partnership between Mirchi’s wife Hajra Memon and his family.

The NCP leader said the deal was essentially a redevelopment one, involving property partly owned by his family, and partly by others (including Hajra Memon). The property was disputed and under litigation. Under the terms of the settlement overseen by the Bombay High Court, his company was asked to arrive at a deal with others who owned parts of the property, either by buying them out, or giving them space in the redevelopment, Patel added.

“I have nothing to do with Hajra Memon. The Millennium Developers Pvt Ltd is a Patel family firm and Hajra or no one from her family owns any shares in it. There is not a single naya paisa dealing between the Patel family and Hajra,” said Patel. As for allotting her space, Patel clarified that there were no restrictions on dealing with Memon.

The Bombay High Court order was delivered in 1999.

PM Modi also said he was surprised to see some people shamelessly asking connection of J&K with Maharashtra and added that (J&K) land and their people are also sons of mother India.

“I am surprised to hear a few voices from the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji (Maharashtra) are shamelessly saying that what is the sense in raising the decision of Article 370 in state assembly polls? Let them hear it properly, J&K and its nationalist residents are son of mother India,” he said, adding, “They (opposition leaders) don’t want united India. They want to divide India for their divisive politics.

Both former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar have accused PM Modi and the BJP of raising the scrapped Article 370 to divert attention from the issues concerning the state.

The Prime Minister alleged that the opposition parties have also insulted Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar by not honoring him with Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the country. He also accused them of insulting Veer Savarkar was insulted by them.