Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance on a shaky wicket as pressure mounts on to sack Anil Deshmukh

The alliance between Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress in Maharashtra appears to be on a shaky wicket as pressure mounts on sacking Anil Deshmukh as the Home Minister following disclosures of the former Mumbai Police chief.

While NCP supremo Sharad Pawar has come out backing Deshmukh, sources in Shiva Sena say that Chief Minister Udhav Thackeray wants him out until investigations on the allegations made by Param Bir Singh are completed.

Meanwhile, the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said that the Home Minister of Maharashtra, Anil Deshmukh, must resign over the allegations made by the former Mumbai police commissioner, Param Bir Singh.

BJP to launch agitation

Fadnavis said that the party would launch an agitation seeking his resignation.

He said that the matter cannot be investigated till Maharashtra’s Home Minister stays on his post. But it must also be remembered that former Director General of Police Subodh Jaiswal had also sought posting at Centre after a falling out with the State Home Minister. His confidential report sent to the Chief Minister had also prominently mentioned corruption charges.

Fadnavis also hit out at Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar who came out in defence of Deshmukh, saying that the veteran leader is fleeting away from the truth.

Param Bir Singh’s charge

Singh, who was until recently Mumbai Police Commissioner, on Saturday set off a political firestorm by writing a letter to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray alleging that Deshmukh was indulging in corruption and had asked suspended Assistant Police Inspector, Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore every month.

Veteran political analyst, Nagesh Kesari said that the letter had become a tool in the hands of the BJP to bring down the Maha Vikas Aghadi government of Uddhav Thackeray. It could be used to invoke Article 365 of the Indian constitution and bring Presidential rule to the state.

The way the Antila bomb scare cases have been treated, transfer of the Singh has been effected and Waze’s arrest has been handled shows the political immaturity on all the main leaders in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. The Thackeray Government in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly should not have given full support to the Mumbai police. The monsoon season is still two months away, but the dark clouds of uncertainty have gathered over Maharashtra’s political landscape, he said.

Maharashtra’s Maha Vikas Aghadi government is a three-party government led Shiv Sena and supported by Nationalist Congress Party and Congress party.

Ravi Shankar Prasad seeks impartial probe

Meanwhile, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, also addressing the media on Sunday, called for a fair and impartial probe by an outside agency into the controversy surrounding Mumbai policeman Sachin Waze and the support provided by top leaders of the ruling Shiv Sena-NCP in Maharashtra.

Many allegations have surrounded Waze, and for many years he was suspended. He was brought back into the Mumbai police force because many officers had fallen sick during the COVID pandemic. But after all, under whose pressure he was brought back. Was under pressure from Shiv Sena? Chief Minister or Sharad Pawar? Prasad asked.

He asked that on this whole matter, what is the Chief of the Nationalist Congress Party’s position, Sharad Pawar? Former Police Commissioner Singh had said that Pawar was also briefed by him and was told that money is being demanded. What was the briefing made to Pawar?

Prasad added that since Pawar is not holding any position in Maharashtra Government, how can the Police Commissioner brief him?

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