Fadnavis forced me to incriminate BJP rivals: NCP leader claims

Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis attempted to destabilize Maha Vikas Aghadi government in 2021 by seeking to file false affidavit against its leaders, Scroll reported citing Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Anil Deshmukh.

Anil Deshmukh claimed on Wednesday that Fadnavis forced him to file false cases against four Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, which was in power in 2021, included the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and the Congress and Deshmukh was the state home minister till April 2021.

Deshmukh claimed Fadnavis had sent his close aide to him three years ago and gave him an ‘envelope asking to get four affidavits done.’

‘Had I agreed, [Uddhav] Thackeray, the then Finance Minister Ajit Pawar, the then Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray and the then Transport Minister Anil Parab would have been in trouble,’ Deshmukh was quoted as saying.

Further attacking Fadnavis, former minister claimed that the Enforcement Directorate arrested him after he rejected his request.

Anil Deshmukh was arrested in November 2021in connection with a corruption case and was also booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation in April 2022 and following which he stepped down from the post in April 2021. However, Deshmukh was granted bail in December 2022.

The case against him stemmed from accusations raised by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.

Writing to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in March 2021, Singh alleged that Deshmukh had directed some officers to extort Rs 100 crore monthly from bars and restaurants in the city.

Deshmukh said he was ‘promised freedom’ from the probe against him by the central agencies if he implicated the four Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders, according to the report.

‘At the right moment, I will reveal who this messenger was, who had approached me at the official residence,’ the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader was quoted as saying.

Fadnavis termed Deshmukh’s allegations ‘baseless’, and claimed the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader’s party members possess incriminating audio-visual evidence against him.

‘If false accusations continue to be levelled against me, I will have no choice but to make this evidence public,’ he was quoted as saying.