Sharad Pawar urges PM Modi to look into Oppn leaders’ letter over alleged “misuse” of central agencies

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], March 6 (ANI): Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to look into the concerns, raised by opposition leaders over alleged “misuse” of central agencies, seriously.

While addressing a press conference here, the former Union Minister took note of the opposition’s joint letter and said he was the first one to sign the letter to PM Modi.

“The first sign in the letter to PM Modi is mine. We want PM Modi to take our concerns seriously,” Pawar said.

Referring to Delhi former Education Minister Manish Sisodia’s arrest by CBI in connection with the now-scrapped liquor policy, he said, “Sisodia worked well for the education sector and was praised by many but he is being arrested.”

Earlier on Sunday, nine leaders of eight political parties wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the arrest of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the excise policy case, and alleged that the “misuse” of the central agencies suggests that the country has “transitioned from being a democracy to an autocracy”.

The leaders alleged that the timings of the lodging of cases or arrests of the Opposition leaders “coincided with elections” which makes it clear that the action taken was “politically motivated”.

Among the Opposition leaders who were the signatories of the letter included BRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao, JKNC chief Farooq Abdullah, AITC chief Mamata Banerjee, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

However, there were no representations from Congress, JDS, JD (U), and CPI (M) in the letter.