Mumbai:
Sharad Pawar — veteran politician and chief of his faction of the Nationalist Congress Celebration — stated immediately that he had warned former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his UPA authorities concerning the amendments within the Prevention of Cash Laundering Act or PMLA, and the probabilities of their abuse beneath a special authorities.
It was ironic that then finance minister P Chidambaram, who had steered the modification, was one of many folks to undergo the implications when the NDA got here to energy, he stated.
Talking on the launch of the Marathi e book “Narkatla Swarg”(Heaven inside Hell) written by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, he stated the legislation should be amended each time the facility on the Centre modifications fingers once more, he stated. The e book is Mr Raut’s memoirs of his time in jail, following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in reference to an alleged cash laundering case. He later received bail.
It was Mr Chidambaram who had proposed the modification to the PMLA that positioned the onus on an accused to show innocence – in contrast to in every other case the place one is taken into account harmless until confirmed responsible.
“After I learn it (Chidambaram’s proposal), I advised (prime minister) Manmohan Singh it is rather harmful and we should always not go forward with it… I strongly opposed it, saying if the federal government modifications, we can even should face penalties. However the recommendation was not heeded,” Mr Pawar stated.
“After the federal government modified, motion was taken towards Chidambaram and he was arrested. Energy was misused,” he added, referring to the arrest of the previous Union minister by the ED in an alleged cash laundering case.