Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Aditya Thackeray on Monday accused the central government of "using the central agencies as pawns for their political benefit" while commenting on the raid conducted by the Income Tax (IT) Department this morning at the residence of Rahul Kanal, a close aide of Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray.
"The BJP is just scared of Maha Vikas Aghadi. They are using the central agencies as their pawns for their dirty political agendas. They have done the same things in Uttar Pradesh, Hyderabad and West Bengal. They are trying to do it in Maharashtra too now. But we are not scared of them or their tactics. They can't harm Maharashtra," said Aditya Thackeray while speaking to a group of journalists in Mumbai.
The political tensions in Maharashtra are growing rife as the IT department's raid spree has caught up speed in Mumbai and Pune. The income tax officials raided the residences of Shiv Sena office bearers and RTO officers Bajrang Kharmate and Sadanand Kadam along with Rahul Kanal, all of whom are close associates of Shiv Sena leader and CM Udhhav Thackeray.
Kanal, who is particularly close to Aditya Thackeray, is also the Yuva Sena office bearer and the trustee of the popular Shirdi Devasthan. The raid was carried out at his Mumbai home Tuesday morning. Last month, the IT department had raided the house of Laxmanrao Jadhav, another close confidante to the Shiv Sena and chairman of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation's standing committee, for three days straight.
Also read: I-T Dept detects illegal properties worth Rs 130 Cr in Mumbai raid
