ED questions Rohit Pawar for 11 hours, releases him late at night

“I wholeheartedly thank everyone who waited here for the whole day. We have decided not to bend in front of anyone and I am going to follow the same,” he said after his release, adding that he would continue to co-operate with the officials. He addressed party workers from the window at the first floor of NCP office.

“During the 12-hour interrogation, I never felt tired because you all were chanting and sloganeering for me. I was instead getting re-energised. When our leader Sharad Pawar came here and waited for whole day, it was clear that Pawar saheb supports the one who fights and not the one who quits,” Rohit said.

NCP leader Rohit Pawar left from the ED office after almost of 11 hours of interrogation in connection with the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam.

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“We all have decided that we will fight for the pride and rights of the people of Maharashtra. I have worked honestly in my business and only then joined politics. Just because I am cooperating with the probe does not mean I will tolerate unjust actions against us or our workers,” he said.

“No matter how much Delhi tries, we have decided not to bow down in front of Delhi. We have decided to fight and our fight is to win,” he added.

In the morning, before entering the ED office, Rohit Pawar paid tributes at the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Vidhan Bhavan as well as in front of the Preamble of the Constitution. He also carried with him a book on Maharashtra’s first chief minister late Yashvantrao Chavan and a copy of the Constitution. He also carried with him a file with photos of social reformers and great personalities.

Meanwhile, hundreds of NCP workers along with MLAs and other leaders had gathered outside the party office in support of Rohit. He touched the feet of NCP chief Sharad Pawar before leaving for questioning. Sharad Pawar was present in the party office throughout the 11 hours when Rohit was questioned.

Baramati Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, MLAs Sunil Bhusara and Sandip Kshirsagar accompanied Rohit till the ED office. Party workers had put up banners and posters in support of Rohit Pawar in Ballard Piers area in south Mumbai where the ED office is located.

“This is the period of struggle for us. We will fight it out and I am sure that the truth will prevail. Rohit Pawar is fighting for the rights of youth. The people have love and affection towards him. The data from Parliament shows that 95% of actions from the central agencies are against those from the opposition. Therefore, the notice to Rohit was not unexpected,” said Sule. She added that since Rohit is working for the poor, farmers and working class, certain powers are bound to be unhappy with him and this notice could be a part of the revenge politics.