Aaditya Thackeray, president of the Shiv Sena UBT's youth wing, fired a volley of accusations at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Maharashtra government on Friday, January 19. He alleged that the ED, closely linked to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), targeted Shiv Sena leaders like Suraj Sawant and Kishori Pednekar to pressure them into switching sides. He further asserted that Rajan Salvi, another party leader, faced similar pressure tactics.
Thackeray didn't hold back when responding to media queries on the recent ED actions and the delay in hosting the "Magnetic Maharashtra" investment summit. He questioned the sincerity of the "Magnetic Maharashtra" initiative, claiming it hadn't been held for the past two years despite promises. In his view, there's only one explanation – the current government, a BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, deliberately postponed the event till Gujarat hosted its "Vibrant Gujarat" summit.
Former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray told PTI, “ED (Enforcement Directorate) is an active part of the NDA. They have jailed Suraj Sawant and Kishori Pednekar, and leaders like Rajan Salvi continue to face pressures to leave the party, but these are brave people who stand good in their stead. We have many times raised the question of ‘Magnetic Maharashtra’ not taking place in the past two years. There is only one explanation that the current government had pressure to postpone the event till after ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ happened.”