M'shtra MP brags of his impunity from ED pursuit being a BJP MP

Mumbai: Sanjay Patil, a Lok Sabha member from Maharashtra, bragged of his impunity from the Enforcement Directorate pursuit for being a BJP MP. The statement of Patil, a Lok Sabha member from Sangli, was reportedly not the first assertion of the same kind.

Harshvardhan Patil, who switched to BJP from Congress earlier this month, claimed that now he could enjoy sound sleep without the fear of enquiry against him.

The BJP MP's boasting, however, fortified the accusation by opposition parties of the BJP led Central government using investigating agencies to target their leaders and settle political scores.

"We too had to go to BJP. He (referring to someone from the opposition sitting next to him on stage) asked why I joined the BJP. I told him to ask his leader why I went to BJP. ....Everything is easy-going and peaceful (in BJP). I get sound sleep as there are no inquiries," Harshvardhan Patil was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

When the statement, which may put BJP in a defensive state, went viral, the MP tried to downplay it saying his statements were misinterpreted.

"I made a statement while I had gone to Maval for a hotel inauguration day before yesterday. That statement is being misinterpreted, which is why I am here to give clarification," he told the media.