Who Is Saying The Truth? Anil Deshmukh Or Parambir Singh?
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-03-22 09:44:22
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
The fallout of the Antilla bomb scare case is getting murkier with the transferred Mumbai Police commissioner Parambir Singh approaching the Supreme Court for ordering an investigation in the corruption charges he levied against Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh and also questioning his transfer to Home Guards. Singh has obviously upped the ante as Deshmukh had warned that he would slap a defamation case against the former top cop. He might have also been instigated into taking this step as the NCP supremo Sharad Pawar questioned his motives in leveling charges against Deshmukh. With the matter heading to the Supreme Court, it is certain that it will not remain something to be decided among the MVA partners but the judiciary is likely to have the last word.
Pawar is backing Deshmukh strongly and has ruled out his removal. He has even said that there is no pressure from the Shiv Sena to dispense with the home minister. But that was a given since Deshmukh is alleged to have entrusted assistant inspector Sachin Waze, who is a Shiv Sena man, to collect Rs 100 crores per month from pubs, restaurants and other business establishments. Hence, it is obvious that the Sena brass knew (as Waze would have definitely informed them of the 'request') of the same and since it did not question Deshmukh, it is also obvious that the move had Sena's backing. The alleged corruption charge is not only against Deshmukh for it is clear that he was just the one who made the 'request' but the funds would have been shared, if they had been collected.
The Maharashtra home minister must resign or be removed. When someone occupies such a high office, he must not only be pure but must also appear to be so. The corruption charge has not been leveled by a common man who could not have been privy to the goings-on behind closed doors in the corridors of power but by a senior police officer who has put his job on stake to make this accusation and who is willing to fight to prove it. Deshmukh must resign on moral grounds. But it is now clear that he is not going to. Further, the shaky foundations of the MVA will ensure that chief minister Uddhav Thackeray will not be able to remove him even if he wants to.
