Won’t bow down before Delhi, will visit ED on September 27: Sharad Pawar

Mumbai, Sep 25: NCP chief Sharad Pawar, named in a money laundering case, on Wednesday said that he will not "bow down before Delhi" and will go to the ED office on Friday.

"I do not want the ED to believe that I am running away from being investigated. Because of the state elections, I will be travelling to as many districts as possible next month. In this situation, I don't want the ED to believe that I am not being available or have gone invisible. I will present myself willingly to the ED," Pawar said while addressing the media.

Pawar has been named in a complaint regarding a Rs. 25,000-crore scam involving the sanction of loans by the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank.

Along with Pawar, the ED had registered a case against his nephew Ajit Pawar and several others including Anandrao Adsul (Shiv Sena), Jayant Patil (PWP), Diliprao Deshmukh and Madan Patil (Congress), Ishwarlal Jain and Shivajirao Nalawade (NCP).

According to the ED, there were several irregularities in the loans provided to the cooperative sugar factories by the MSCB off coals. The loans were sanctioned to the factories despite the finances being weak. Further, additional benefits were extended without any justification, the ED has also said.

The case involves alleged violation of banking laws and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines while disbursing loans to the state's sugar factories and spinning mills. Many of those who sanctioned the loans were allegedly linked to the owners of the mill owners.