Sharad Pawar Rules Out Maharashtra Home Minister’s Exit Over Malpractice Allegations
The NCP chief said allegations against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh pertain to a period when he was hospitalised.
The corruption allegations made by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh pertain to a period when the latter was hospitalised and hence the question of his resignation does not arise, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said on Monday.
“We got information that Deshmukh was hospitalised at that time in Nagpur. The allegation (of Singh) pertains to exactly the same period when he was in hospital. There is a hospital certificate," Pawar told reporters in Delhi.
In his eight-page letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Singh on Saturday claimed Deshmukh wanted police officers to collect Rs 100 crore monthly from bars and hotels.
Singh had also alleged in the letter that Deshmukh had called Mumbai police API Sachin Waze around mid-February at the ministers official residence and told him to collect Rs 100 crore a month.
Deshmukh had rubbished the charges the same day.
Deshmukh was admitted to a Nagpur hospital between Feb. 5-15 after testing positive for Covid-19 and was being analysed from Feb. 15-27, Pawar said during the media briefing.
The NCP chief also read out a certificate from the hospital in this regard.
"All (state) government records also say that for the entire three weeks, he (Deshmukh) was not in Bombay (Mumbai). He was in Nagpur, which is his home town. That’s why in such a situation, the question (of seeking resignation) does not arise,” Pawar said.