NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday said he had warned the UPA government against introducing a provision in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) that reversed the burden of proof, fearing it would be misused later. He said that his caution went unheard, and today, the law is being used to suppress the opposition.
Pawar, while addressing the launch of Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut’s Marathi book ‘Narkatla Swarg’, which documents Raut’s experience in prison after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case. However, he was later given bail.
Pawar recounts opposing the controversial clause
Pawar mentioned that he had firmly objected when the Finance Minister P Chidambaram had proposed the amendment during the UPA regime. ”I told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that this was dangerous. If power changes hands, this law would be turned against us,” he counted. ”That’s exactly what happened. Chidambaram himself was later arrested.”
The NCP (SP) leader said that under the UPA era, nine opposition leaders were charge-sheeted under the PMLA, but they were never arrested. Under the current NDA government, 19 leaders from parties like Congress, AAP, DMK, RJD, TMC, and others have been targeted. From the NCP itself, Nawab Malik, Anil Deshmukh and Chhagan Bhujbal were arrested and later released on bail.
TMC MP Saket Gokhale underlined the challenging nature of the law, stating it forces the accused to prove their innocence. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray raised question on the Centre’s power over the investigative agencies and slammed the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal and stated it lack transparency.
Pawar appealed that whenever there is a change in government, these amendments should be reversed to reinstate fairness and balance.
(With inputs from PTI)