Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday claimed that in 2021, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis pressured him to file false affidavits against four Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders in an attempt to destabilise the state government at the time, The Times of India reported.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition comprises the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and the Congress. The alliance was in power in the state in 2021.
Deshmukh, who was the state home minister till April 2021, alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party leader had sent his close aide to him three years ago, The Hindu reported.
“I was given an envelope asking to get four affidavits done,” he was quoted by The Hindu as saying. “Had I agreed, [Uddhav] Thackeray, the then Finance Minister Ajit Pawar, the then Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray and the then Transport Minister Anil Parab would have been in trouble.”
Deshmukh claimed that he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate after he refused to comply with Fadnavis’ request.
The former state home minister was arrested in November 2021 after he was booked in a corruption case by the Enforcement Directorate. He was also booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation in April 2022. He was granted bail in December 2022.
He had stepped down from his post in April 2021.
The cases against Deshmukh related to accusations made by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh who had written in March 2021 to Uddhav Thackeray, the chief minister at the time, alleging that Deshmukh had asked some officers to extort Rs 100 crore every month from bars and restaurants in the city.
On Wednesday, Deshmukh claimed that he was “promised freedom” from the central agencies’ investigations if he implicated the four Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders, The Times of India reported.
“At the right moment, I will reveal who this messenger was, who had approached me at the official residence,” the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader said, according to The Hindu.
In June 2022, Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde revolted and split the party, taking away 41 MLAs and 13 MPs. This had led to the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government with Shinde becoming the chief minister with the BJP’s support.
In July 2023, Ajit Pawar rebelled, leading to a split within the Nationalist Congress Party. Ajit Pawar took 41 MLAs and one of the two party MPs with him to join the BJP-Shinde alliance. He became the deputy chief minister after this.
‘Allegations are baseless’, says Devendra Fadnavis
Fadnavis said that the allegations Deshmukh made on Wednesday were baseless, adding that the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader’s own party members had incriminating audio-visual evidence against him, India Today reported.
“If false accusations continue to be levelled against me, I will have no choice but to make this evidence public,” he said.
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