MVA FLAYS BJP OVER LAWYER UKE’S ARREST

The tripartite dispensation of Sena-NCP-Cong slammed the Centre for “misusing the central agencies” against political rivals

The Enforcement Directorate’s raid on the homes of well-known lawyer Satish Uke and his brother Pradeep Uke at Parvati Nagar in Nagpur and later their arrests sparked a political controversy. Uke, who is the lawyer of state Congress chief Nana Patole, had filed election petitions against former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. He has been arrested in connection with land transactions. In July 2018, he was arrested by the Economic Offences Wing of the Nagpur Police’s Crime Branch in an alleged fraud case.

Uke is also the lawyer of Patole, who has filed a Rs 500 crore defamation suit in a civil court against IPS officer and former state intelligence chief Rashmi Shukla and others for alleged illegal tapping of his phone.

Patole lashed out at the BJP reiterating that the party-led government has been misusing the central agencies against the opponents and those who are speaking up against the injustice.

He recalled that Uke had in the past filed petitions in the Bombay High Court with regard to the death of Judge BH Loya.

"Whoever raises voice against the anti-national and anti-people policies of the Modi government, the Modi government will try to silence them by misusing the central agencies, such a message is being given. But we will keep fighting to save the country,"said Patole.

While Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut criticized ED raids at Uke’s home, saying that it would not be surprising if Patole is also raided since Uke has been the Congressman’s lawyer.

Raut during Shiv Sena’s Sampark Yatra last week had met Uke and accused the BJP and the Centre for blatantly misusing official machineries especially in Maharashtra in their effort to topple the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

“A strange situation is witnessed in which those who provide information and evidence are being punished while the guilty are getting away scot-free,’’ Raut asserted, adding that in his recent complaint against the actions by central probe agencies, nobody from the PMO has taken any action despite furnishing evidence against the ED. Similarly, state NCP chief spokesman Mahesh Tapase blamed the BJP for the misuse of central investigation agencies.

Criticising raids at Uke’s home, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that it would not be surprising if Congress leader Nana Patole is also raided