Congress Leader Nana Patole Accuses Maharashtra Govt of Shielding Corruption

Nagpur: Senior Congress leader Nana Patole on Thursday claimed that there are several instances of the Maharashtra government “protecting corrupt persons, including Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s son Parth Pawar”.

He was responding to a question concerning the Bombay High Court’s remarks in a matter linked to the controversial Pune land deal.

Speaking to reporters on the Vidhan Bhavan premises here amid the ongoing winter session of the state legislature, Patole said, “We can see several examples of how the government is trying to shield and protect those committing corruption.”

Patole claimed that a Mumbai assistant municipal commissioner, who is accused of corruption during the COVID outbreak, has been sent on compulsory one-month leave.

“These officials should be dismissed, but the government is shielding such persons, including Parth Pawar,” he said.

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday raised sharp questions regarding the police probe into the controversial Pune land deal, asking whether they were protecting Parth Pawar by not naming him in the land deal FIR.

Noting that Parth, a majority partner in the firm involved, was omitted from the FIR, a single bench of Justice Madhav Jamdar asked, “Is the police protecting the son of the deputy chief minister and only investigating others?”

The sale of 40 acres of land in Pune's upscale Mundhwa area for Rs 300 crore to Amadea Enterprises LLP, in which Parth is a majority partner, came under scrutiny after it emerged that the plot belongs to the government and it could not be sold. The firm was also allegedly exempted from paying Rs 21 crore in stamp duty.

When told that many senior ministers were not present in the House on Thursday, Patole said they are busy with their own agenda and are least bothered about legislative work. This government has lowered the stature of the legislature, he claimed.

To a query about whether the recent interaction between NCP chief Ajit Pawar and his uncle and NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar in Delhi could form the basis of an alignment, Patole quipped, “It’s nice. You have given very joyous news.”