Sharad Pawar, the leader of the Nationalist Congress Party, tweeted on Thursday that the Income Tax authorities had sent him notice. He said that the "love letter" relates to the affidavits submitted for the elections of 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2020 and claimed he is not concerned about sharing information.
On the day when Eknath Shinde, the leader of the Shiv Sena rebels, took the oath of office as the 20th Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr. Pawar reported on the situation.
"A love letter from the income tax about poll affidavits submitted in 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2020 has been delivered to me. Pawar posted a tweet.
In a subsequent tweet, the seasoned politician aimed at the BJP-led Central government, claiming that the agency was "collecting data on certain people."
"There has been a qualitative increase in the efficiency of this department. Focusing on gathering information for so many years, and gathering information from certain people, seems to be a strategic shift," Mr. Pawar's tweet roughly translated from Marathi read.
Mr. Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party -- part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi -- lost power Wednesday as Uddhav Thackeray stepped down from the top post.
Mr. Thackeray's resignation came days after Mr. Shinde led a rebellion with at least 39 Shiv Sena MLAs, alleging that Mr. Thakeray ignored Shiv Sena MLAs demand that the alliance with Congress and NCP should be ended.
Mr. Pawar, however, rejected rebel Sena MLAs' claims as "baseless."
"This accusation is without merit. It is unrelated to the NCP or Congress. NCP and Congress are being held accountable because something needs to be explained to the public (as a justification), " added.