Sachin Vaze case: BJP counters Sharad Pawar's claims on Anil Deshmukh

Mumbai, Mar 22: Former chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis has countered NCP president Sharad Pawar's statements on state home minister Anil Deshmukh's involvement in the controversial Sachin Vaze case.

 

 

 

“If you see the former Commissioner’s letter, he mentions that in mid-February he was informed by certain officers that they got such and such instructions from Home Minister…From 6th-16th February, Deshmukh was admitted in the hospital because of Corona,” Pawar had told reporters when asked about BJP’s demand for Deshmukh’s resignation.

 

 

"It is clear that during the period about which the allegations were made, Anil Deshmukh was hospitalized. As this is clear, such demands hold no power,” he said. Further he also said that he will continue as the home minister of Maharashtra.

 

Responding to this, Fadnavis said that Anil Deshmukh was holding a press conference on February 15 as against the claims made by the NCP chief that the home minister was in hospital from February 5-15 and in quarantine from February 16-27.

 

 

Malviya had also questioned Deshmukh's presence on February 15 in front of reporters. When the reporters asked Pawar about Malviya’s tweet, the NCP chief looked visibly rattled and said he has been informed that Deshmukh was hospitalized during that time, while trying to dodge further questions.

 

 

 

After former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh dropped a letter bomb alleging that Anil Deshmukh wanted police officers to collect Rs 100 crore monthly from bars and hotels in the city, the BJP had risen its voice demanding his removal as the home minister. However, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government maintained that it was a conspiracy to defame the Maharashtra government.

 

On Sunday, Sharad Pawar had said that Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will decide the fate of Deshmukh. Senior NCP leaders Ajit Pawar and state unit president Jayant Patil also met Pawar at his residence in Delhi the same day when it was decided that Deshmukh will not step down.

 

A major political turmoil erupted in Maharashtra after Singh, who was recently shunted out as Mumbai police commissioner, wrote a letter to Chief Minister Thackeray last week claiming Deshmukh had asked Sachin Waze, currently in the NIA custody, and other police officers to collect Rs 100 crore monthly, including Rs 50 to Rs 60 crore from bars and hotels in Mumbai. Deshmukh had denied these allegations.

 

 

The NIA is investigating Vaze’s role in placing an explosives-laden SUV outside Ambani’s residence on February 25. The federal agency was handed over the Hiran murder case on Saturday. Hiran was the purported owner of that SUV, a Scorpio.