Why has Raj Thackeray fallen silent after ED questioning

Mumbai, Sep 12: NCP leader Ajit Pawar took a jibe at Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, saying he has become "less vocal" after a visit to the office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Thackeray, who had carried out a vigorous campaign against the BJP during the Lok Sabha elections, was questioned by the ED in a money laundering case earlier this month.

"Today some people are facing inquiry, some people are being served notices," Ajit Pawar, a former deputy chief minister, said here.

"Take the example of Raj Thackeray. During the Lok Sabha election, he was very vocal. Don't know what happened, but after he was made to sit (in ED office) from morning to evening, he has become less vocal," the NCP leader said.

"I am not making fun of anybody but this is a fact," he added.

Talking about Harshvardhan Patil, Pawar said Patil had already made up his mind about joining the BJP, but pretended that he was quitting the Congress finally because of the NCP.

Patil, a former Congress minister, joined the BJP on Wednesday.

"Today, accusations were made that Pawar Saheb (NCP chief Sharad Pawar), (Baramati MP) Supriya Sule and I did not keep our word. Entire Maharashtra knows that Ajit Pawar is a man of his word," he said.

When the discussion between Congress and NCP about seat-sharing was going on, the issue of Indapur seat was kept aside and it was decided that "whatever decision Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Pawar saheb take will be acceptable," Ajit said.

He also said that he tried to meet Patil, but the latter was not willing.

According to political sources, Patil was keen on contesting from his traditional seat of Indapur in Pune district in the coming Assembly polls.

But the NCP was non-committal about ceding the seat for its ally Congress, thus frustrating Patil.