Chhagan Bhujbal denies reports about joining the BJP alliance due to ED pressure 

Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal denied reports that he had joined the BJP due to pressure from the ED. File photo

Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Friday denied reports that he had joined the BJP-led alliance due to pressure from the Enforcement Directorate (ED). He also denied reports that he was being targeted as he was an Other Backward Class (OBC) leader. While speaking to reporters in Nasik on Friday, he said he was yet to read the book by a renowned journalist that had made such claims. “I will go through it along with my lawyers and will take appropriate legal action if anything wrong was published,” he said.

The controversy broke out on Friday when some media outlets reported about a book in which the Minister had allegedly made such an admission.

“It was only for the benefit and progress of Maharashtra that 54 MLAs including me took this decision. We joined the NCP-Ajit Pawar faction on the plank of development, and my people are very happy with the work that has been done in my constituency,” he told reporters.

He denied writing any book or giving interviews in this regard. “I am not scared of going to prison. I haven’t said anything that has been reported. I had received a clean chit in the Maharashtra Sadan case when I was Minister in the Uddhav Thackeray government. So there is no question of being under stress for that,” he said.

He said not all 54 MLAs were facing ED investigations, and yet they took the call for the sake of development. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar also refuted the media reports.