'Don't harras family; if you want me jailed, come to power': Uddhav Thackeray to BJP on ED raids

"If you want to come to power, then come to power. But don't do all these vicious things to come to power. Don't harass our or anyone else's family members. We never bothered your family members," he said in the assembly.

"It is not that we are saying that your families have done something wrong or that they have something that we can trouble you about. If you want to put us in jail to come to power, put me in jail," Thackeray said in what he claimed to be an "emotional" appeal.

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday froze Rs. 6.45 crore worth assets of Uddhav Thackeray's brother-in-law in connection with a money laundering case.

The move came two weeks after the Income Tax Department conducted a series of raids on people considered close to his son Aaditya Thackeray, who is also a minister.

Following these, the Shiv Sena had accused the BJP government at the centre of selectively targeting political opponents.

"The ED (Enforcement Directorate) is acting under political pressure. They are trying to make us bend through central agencies," Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut had said on Monday.

"All states that don't have BJP governments are facing this. Yesterday, Mamata Banerjee's nephew was questioned by ED. This smacks of a demonic autocracy. Neither Bengal nor Maharashtra will bend," he added.

Veteran politician and Uddhav Thackeray's ally from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Sharad Pawar had said: "This is the misuse of central agencies. This is political vendetta to target the government here."

"Five to ten years ago, no one even knew what the ED was. Now its ED, ED. The misuse of central agencies that we are seeing... let's see what happens," he had said.

In a statement, the probe agency had said it has issued a provisional order to "attach" 11 residential flats in Neelambari project, located in Thane near Mumbai, of Shree Saibaba Grihanirmiti Private Limited. Attaching a property means it cannot be transferred, converted or moved.

The ED, which reports to the BJP government at the centre, has been in the limelight along with other central investigating agencies for chasing targets in Maharashtra in recent months.

The government has denied charges of any bias.

Late last month, Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik was arrested after questioning by the agency in connection with a money laundering case linked to fugitive terrorist Dawood Ibrahim. He will be in judicial custody till at least April 4.