MUMBAI: A day after the Enforcement Directorate attached the properties of a Satara-based sugar factory which has been linked to deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, the latter said the auction process for the purchase of the unit was legal and as per directives of the Bombay High Court.
“We have not received any communication from the ED…the (company’s) board of directors have no role in the transactions. I am told they will approach the competent authority against the ED decision,’’ Pawar told mediapersons in Pune. According to ED, a company named Sparkling Soil Pvt Ltd controls Guru Commodity Services which bought the sugar mill and leased it to Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills which runs the unit. Sparkling Soil is a “related company” to Ajit Pawar and his wife Sunetra Pawar, the agency said.
Following a Bombay high court order, Pawar said the unit was bought in an auction and when it failed to revive it, it was purchased by his relative Rajendra Ghadge in compliance with the rules. “In fact, he took a loan of Rs 300-400 crore to operate the loss-making unit…in the past, it was probed by CID and ACB, they drew a blank,” Pawar said.
Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat reacted sarcastically to the ED action: “We are not surprised, ED is now part of our life,’’ he said.
NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said the party was not surprised by the action. “In our opinion, ED is defaming NCP and its leaders, we are prepared for a long legal battle. We will continue to attack the NDA government for its anti-democratic and anti-people policies,’’ Malik said.
