NEW DELHI/PATNA: BJP on Sunday stepped up its attack on Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, with several senior members seeking a CBI probe into ex- Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh’s allegations while saying that Uddhav had lost the moral authority to be in office.
BJP also questioned NCP chief Sharad Pawar for his “conspicuous” and “ominous” silence despite having had knowledge about the “extortion” allegations involving party colleague Anil Deshmukh, who is Maharashtra home minister. Singh, in a letter to the CM and the governor, had said Deshmukh had asked arrested “encounter” cop Sachin Waze to raise Rs 100 crore a month from Mumbai’s dance bars and restaurants.
Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said if Thackeray had any propriety, he should recommend a CBI inquiry and should not continue in office. Senior party members like BL Santhosh, CT Ravi and former CM Devendra Fadnavis too demanded Deshmukh’s resignation and a thorough probe. Prasad said the late Bal Thackeray’s slogan was “Jai Maharashtra” but Uddhav Thackeray was heading a “loot agadhi”. “This government is abusing power like never before. Need to make them quit early and save Maharashtra,” Santhosh tweeted.
In Patna, Prasad said BJP would hit the streets in Maharashtra against “operation loot” going on there. “BJP wants a fair and transparent probe by an outside agency into this murky government loot,” he said.
He questioned Pawar and Thackeray’s motives in defending Waze. “I’ve never heard of a CM or a senior member like Pawar defending an assistant police inspector-rank officer,” he said.
Prasad sought answers from MVA partners including Thackeray and Pawar. “The disturbing question is why Waze was reinstated after years of suspension, that too during Covid? Why an SI-level officer was given such an important case?” he asked. Prasad said Pawar was not part of the government and asked in what capacity he was briefed by police commissioner.