Allegations against Anil Deshmukh are serious: Sharad Pawar on Param Bir Singh's letter

Mumbai: NCP Chief Sharad Pawar addressed a press conference on Sunday (March 21) in relation to the allegations against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. Pawar pointed out that the letter sent by the ex- Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh was not signed by the former. 

“The allegations against the Maharashtra Home Minister are serious. The Maharashtra CM has the full authority to take a decision regarding an inquiry on these allegations against the Home Minister”, says NCP Chief Sharad Pawar on former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh's letter to Chief Minister.

The veteran politician while refuting the allegations against Anil Deshmukh said, “the letter addressed to the Chief Minister didn’t showcase any proof or concrete evidence. The timing of these allegations against Anil Deshmukh has to be looked into. Why now?"

I don't know whether efforts are being made or not to topple the government (Maharashtra). All I can say is they will have no impact on the government: NCP Chief Sharad Pawar pic.twitter.com/06vb9Ln1Zz

— ANI (@ANI) March 21, 2021

Before the press conference, NCP chief Sharad Pawar had summoned Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and party chief Jayant Patil to discuss the grave issue.

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief, Raj Thackeray demanded Anil Deshmukh’s resignation against the grave charges against him. 

“Anil Deshmukh should resign immediately. The main issue is that of an explosive-laden vehicle being found near the residence of an industrialist. I request the Central Government to intervene. The State government cannot investigate this matter,” said Raj Thackeray.

Additionally, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad also spoke on the issue. He said, “If Rs 100 cr was the target by the Home Minister (Maharashtra) then what was the target by other ministers? Uddhav Thackeray’s government has lost the moral authority to govern the State even for a day.”

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister's Office in Maharashtra has released a statement saying, “Letter from Param Bir Singh was received at 4:37 pm today via a different email address, not his official one & was without his signature. The new email address needs to be checked. The Home Ministry is trying to contact him for the same.”

Following which former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh cleared the air. He said, “the letter to Maharashtra CM was sent from my email ID only.”