NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Saturday said he had warned against a stringent provision being introduced in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) during the UPA regime, and as he predicted, it was later misused when the government changed.
The law must be amended whenever the power at the Centre changes hands again, he said, speaking at the launch of the Marathi book `Narkatla Swarg' (Heaven inside Hell) written by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut.
The book is about Raut's experiences in prison after the Enforcement Directorate arrested him in an alleged money laundering case. He later got bail.
When then Union minister P Chidambaram proposed an amendment to the PMLA during the UPA government which put the onus to prove innocence on an arrested person, he, as a cabinet member, warned against it, Pawar said.
"When I read it (Chidambaram's proposal), I told (prime minister) Manmohan Singh it is very dangerous and we should not go ahead with it....I strongly opposed it, saying if the government changes, we will also have to face consequences. But it (the advice) was not heeded," claimed the veteran politician. "After the government changed, action was taken against Chidambaram and he was arrested. Power was misused," he said, referring to the arrest of the former Union minister by the ED in an alleged money laundering case.
The PMLA is being used by the current BJP-led government to "destroy the entire opposition," said Pawar.
Referring to Raut's book, he said during the UPA regime, nine people (political leaders) were charge sheeted under the PMLA, but none of them was arrested. During the NDA era, action was taken against 19 people, including leaders from Congress, TMC, BJD, undivided Shiv Sena and NCP, RJD, BSP, AAP, TDP, Samajwadi Party, CPI(M), AIADMK, DMK and TRS, Pawar added.
Notably, from Pawar's own Nationalist Congress Party, leaders such as Anil Deshmukh, Chhagan Bhujbal and Nawab Malik were arrested in alleged money laundering cases under the PMLA. All of them are now out on bail.
"Whenever people in Maharashtra or in the country bring in a change (in the government), whatever amendments that have been made have to be changed (reversed)," Pawar further said.
TMC MP Saket Gokhale too highlighted on this occasion that under the PMLA, an accused has to prove innocence rather than the investigating agency proving that he or she is guilty.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said India is a federal country and the Centre and states haves equal rights. If the Centre can use agencies like Enforcement Directorate, CBI and Income Tax and laws like the PMLA, then states too should to be empowered to use them, he said.
When even chief ministers like Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi) and Hemant Soren (Jharkhand) can be arrested by central agencies and top officials like a director general of police and state chief secretary are summoned by the CBI, how can officials function with strings being pulled by the Centre, he asked.
He also criticised the `One Nation One Election' proposal, stating it looks good on the face of it but lacks transparency.
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