National Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday said he will visit the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office on September 27 in connection with the MSCB Scam case filed against him by the central agency.
Addressing the media in Mumbai, Pawar also questioned the timing of the ED move, which comes days before the October 21 Assembly elections in Maharashtra.
Pawar said he will visit the ED office at 2 pm on September 27 to submit "whatever information" sought in connection with the Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank scam.
READ | 'Not Surprised', Says Sharad Pawar After ED Move On MSCB Scam; NCP Terms As 'Politically Motivated'
"I will be mostly out of Mumbai for Assembly poll campaigning. The agency officials shouldn’t misunderstand that I am unavailable. I will go to them and give them whatever information they want," Pawar said, adding that he believes in the Constitution of India.
"Maharashtra follows the ideology of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. We don’t know bowing down before the Delhi takht (throne)," Pawar said.
The ED filed the money laundering case against Pawar, his nephew Ajit Pawar and 70 others in the bank scam on the directions of the Bombay High Court.
READ | ED Books NCP Chief Sharad Pawar, Nephew Ajit Pawar, Others In MSCB Scam Case
Refuting any political angle in the money laundering case, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the ED registered the case based on the High Court directive.
"It would be wrong to attribute a political motive for the ED action and call it a political vendetta (by the BJP government)," Fadnavis told reporters.