Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which turned 20 on June 10, faces a major crisis as two of its senior leaders face inquiries and court battle ahead of the ensuing Maharashtra Assembly polls likely in September. Former Union civil aviation minister Praful Patel had appeared at the Enforcement Directorate for two consecutive days for questioning in connection with a money-laundering probe related to losses suffered by Air India as part of a multi-crore scam. On the other hand, the Bombay High Court has directed the police to file a case against the leader of opposition in the state Council Dhananjay Munde in connection with alleged illegal purchase of government land in Beed district in the underdeveloped Marathwada region. Both these actions come close on the heels of NCP's drubbing in the Lok Sabha election and its move to launch revival exercise. The party chief Sharad Pawar has convened district and region wise meetings between June 13 and 15 to discuss Assembly poll strategy with a list of probable candidates. Patel has already said he was cooperating the ED to help them understand the complexities of the aviation sector. In his statement, Patel has clarified that the matter pertaining to bilateral agreements for the exchange of flying rights between two governments, where any private individual has no role to play, has already been examined by the Comptroller & Auditor General. The CAG, in its report, has pointed out that there was no loss incurred by the exchequer and not indicted any government functionaries. As far as Munde is concerned, the Aurangabad bench of the high court said prima facie it appears the government land was usurped and hence, directed the Bardapur police to file a case against Munde and others and probe the allegations. However, Munde, who has been quite vocal against the BJP led government functioning in the state, has said that the land was purchased as per rules and without hoodwinking anyone. NCP spokesman Nawab Malik questioned the timing of these cases being pursued against Patel and Munde. "The present establishment could not find anything substantial against the duo in last five years. However, in the run-up to Assembly elections, Patel and Munde in particular and NCP, in general, are being targeted. NCP is prepared to effectively counter such tactics,'' he told DNA. Meanwhile, two more veteran NCP leaders and former state water resources minister Ajit Pawar and Sunil Tatkare have yet to get a clean chit from the investigating agencies on their role in the alleged irrigation scam which was surfaced during the Congress-NCP government. Under scanner Former Union civil aviation minister Praful Patel had appeared at the ED for two consecutive days for questioning in connection with a money-laundering probe related to losses suffered by Air India

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