Deshmukh Accuses Fadnavis of Political Maneuvering Amid MVA Crisis

Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh alleged that Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis protected ex-Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh from arrest by getting him to accuse Deshmukh of corruption to topple the MVA government. Fadnavis refuted the claims while the BJP dismissed them as an attempt to tarnish his reputation.

In a startling claim on Monday, former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh alleged that Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had shielded ex-Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh from arrest. Deshmukh stated that Fadnavis asked Singh to level allegations against him in a bid to destabilize the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.

Fadnavis, however, refuted Deshmukh's accusations, labeling them as baseless. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) argued that Deshmukh's claims were a calculated effort to smear Fadnavis's reputation, questioning how an opposition leader could make such a request to a police officer.

The controversy traces back to 2021 when Deshmukh resigned after Singh accused him of setting a target to collect Rs 100 crore monthly from bars and restaurants. Deshmukh countered by alleging that dismissed officer Sachin Waze acted on Fadnavis's orders. The political drama unfolds as Maharashtra approaches assembly elections, with Fadnavis engaging in strategy meetings with BJP MLAs from the Vidarbha region.

(With inputs from agencies.)