Maharashtra Congress Up The Ante Against BJP After Gupteshwar Pandey Joins JDU, Says Fadnavis Must Oppose

Sawant further said that nothing can be more unfortunate than the fact that BJP's ally appointed Pandey, the man who demeaned Mumbai Police and entire Maharashtra.

Mumbai: A day after former Bihar Director General of Police (DGP) Gupteshwar Pandey joined the state's ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U), Maharashtra Congress on Monday said that the move by Nitish Kumar's party was like applying salt on wounds of people of Maharashtra.

The party has also demanded Devendra Fadnavis to oppose Pandey's candidature. Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant, while speaking to reporters, said that Fadnavis has now that Fadnavis has been appointed as Bihar BJP in-charge, we expect him to oppose Pandey's appointment and show some respect towards people of Maharashtra.

Sawant further said that nothing can be more unfortunate than the fact that BJP's ally appointed Pandey, the man who demeaned Mumbai Police and entire Maharashtra.

Pandey, who had taken voluntary retirement from the Indian Police Service a few days back, said that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had called him at his residence in the morning and asked him to join the party.

He joined the JD-U formally at a function at the party office here in the presence of senior leaders including Cabinet Minister Ashok Chaudhary. Pandey is expecting ticket to contest the October-November Assembly election from his home district Buxar.

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"Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has given full support during my tenure as the DGP. I am not aware of politics but I know how to reach at people at the last stage of society. I have served the common people all my life and will do the same as a public representative," Pandey has said on Sunday.

Pandey came into the limelight in the Sushant Singh Rajput case, after the state police registered an FIR in connection with the actor's death, following a complaint by Rajput's father who lives in Patna.

Moreover, he sent a team headed by an IPS officer to Mumbai to probe the case despite the issues of jurisdiction. This had drawn flak from Maharashtra's ruling parties, including the Shiv Sena.

He had taken VRS on September 22, just days before the Election Commission announced the dates for the Assembly poll and the model code of conduct was imposed in the state. Since than, Pandey was again targeted by the Shiv Sena, whose leader Sanjay Raut alleging that he had the agenda of using the Sushant case for political mileage.

However, Pandey denied all the allegations against him, claiming that he was just helping Sushant's father get justice.