Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday attacked the Modi government and accused it of using the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to “pressurise” Opposition leaders across the country.

He also told the Central government to ask BJP workers to follow Covid protocols as well at the time of protests.

Reacting to the increasing raids at Opposition leaders in Maharashtra, Pawar said, “It (ED) was never used before the way it is being used these days. It is clear that Govt is using this agency to pressurise Opposition leaders.”

“It (ED raids) is not happening only in Maharashtra but in Madhya Pradesh,Rajasthan, Punjab, and some southern states also,” he added.

Talking about the Covid guidelines issued to state governments by the Centre, the NCP chief said, “Central Govt has asked State Govts to take appropriate measures to contain COVID. CM and State Govt are doing that.”

“Everyone has the right to protest in democracy but when Central Govt takes a stance, their party (BJP) workers should also follow that,” opined Sharad Pawar.

Pawar’s comments have come when the ED is probing a money laundering case against NCP leader and former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh.

It has been alleged that Rs 4.7 crore was collected as “extortion” from the orchestra bars by the now-dismissed Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze allegedly on Deshmukh’s instructions. Later, this amount was transferred to Deshmukh’s Nagpur-based educational trust by his son, Hrishikesh.

According to the allegation, the transaction was routed via two hawala operators and was showed as a “donation”.