MUMBAI: A day after the income-tax department provisionally attached properties worth Rs 1,000 crore allegedly belonging to Ajit Pawar and his close relatives under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, the deputy chief minister’s counsel Prashant Patil said no properties related to him had been attached.
“There is no attachment of property of Ajit Pawar, neither is there a notice related to it. The reports appearing in a section of the media about property attachment are incorrect and contradictory to facts,” Patil said in a statement.
Patil however said, “The I-T department has sought clarification on certain issues. We will reply to that letter. We will take whatever legal and administrative action (is) required.”
According to reports, the properties attached included an office of Pawar’s son Parth. The NCP has strongly criticized the I-T action, saying it is politically motivated and an attempt to destabilize the MVA government. NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said no property was benami. “We have reasons to believe that the I-T action is an attempt to destabilize the democratically elected government. There is no merit in the decisions taken by the I-T department. Ajit Pawar will take recourse to legal action,” Malik said.
