Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday sought to reply to the allegations of the BJP taking U-turns when it came to joining hands with or inducting turncoats. Taking a cue from the popular 'Sholay' dialogue, Fadnavis in 2014 had famously said that Ajit Pawar would be "chakki peesing and peesing and peesing [an expression to indicate rigorous imprisonment]" for his corruption if the BJP came to power. However, after Ajit Pawar broke away a faction of the NCP and joined hands with the BJP, sharing the Maharashtra Deputy CM's post with Fadnavis, the BJP came under fire for its U-turn on the stand of corruption.
Speaking at the ABP Shikhar Sammelan, Devendra Fadnavis took direct questions on the BJP's U-turn. He said it was because of the BJP's persistent stance against corruption that the scams in Maharashtra came to the fore. "I don't feel uneasy standing with the likes of these persons [Ajit Pawarand other Congress, NCP turncoats]... We used to accuse them of corruption from 2009 till 2013. We exposed the corruption during the previous government's tenure. Many officials were punished and procedures were changed. Charge sheets were also filed against the guilty," he said.
Referring to the allegations against Ajit Pawar over the Rs 70,000 crore Maharashtra Irrigation scam, Fadnavis stated: "No charge sheet has been filed against the people we stand with today. Yes, it was their responsibility because they were the ministers. But there was no charge sheet against them. Had we not made the accusations, these scams could not have been unearthed. Now it's up to the investigation agencies to probe the scams." Ajit Pawar was the irrigation minister in 2009 when the alleged scam took place.
Speaking about Congress turncoat Ashok Chavan, who was linked with the Adarsh Housing Society, Fadnavis said that he was inducted into the BJP only after being acquitted of all charges. "Ashok Chavan came to us with a clean chit, not a tainted image," he said. Ashok Chavan was named in the probe into the multi-crore Adarsh Housing Society scam.
Ravindra Waikar's Claims False: Fadnavis
When asked about the allegations of misusing investigative agencies to intimidate Opposition leaders into joining the BJP, Fadnavis rubbished the claims. "PM Modi has presented statistics on ED raids. So we don't need to be scared," Fadnavis said.
Fadnavis said Ravindra Waikar, a Congress turncoat in Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, levelled false allegations against the BJP government. Waikar earlier claimed to have been under immense pressure from investigating agencies. In an interview with a regional daily, he said that the pressure only increased when his wife’s name became entangled in a legal case. "I had no option but to switch sides. The situation that destiny had in store for me should not befall anyone,” Waikar was quoted as saying. Reacting to this, Fadnavis said: "Waikar's quote could have been misinterpreted. If someone is accusing us of intimidation, they are wrong."