Maharashtra Govt Appointed People With Links To Dawood To Waqf Board: Fadnavis Tells Assembly

Fadnavis stated before the Assembly that a pen drive he had given had communication between Waqf Board members Mohammad Arshad Khan and Mudasir Lambe.

New Delhi: Former Maharashtra chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Monday alleged that the state government appointed persons with ties to fugitive criminal Dawood Ibrahim to the state's Waqf Board.

Speaking in the Assembly, Fadnavis said that a pen drive he had given to the Speaker contained a conversation between Waqf Board members Mohammad Arshad Khan and Mudasir Lambe, news agency PTI reported.

During the conversation, Lambe said his father-in-law was an accomplice of Ibrahim, while Khan claimed his uncle was involved in the underworld, Fadnavis told the Assembly.

The Leader of the Opposition said while Khan is in jail, Lambe was out on bail despite facing rape allegations.

Last month, Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik was arrested in connection with a money laundering case linked to the activities of gangster Dawood Ibrahim.

Then, Fadnavis had said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government's rallying around Nawab Malik showed its "complete surrender" to the fugitive underworld don.

In the Assembly, Fadnavis also chastised the MVA government's fiscal policies, claiming that capital investment had fallen from 49 per cent to 35 per cent, which was concerning, while revenue expenditure had climbed from 60 per cent to 66 per cent.

"The increase of 12.1 per cent in GSDP was only on paper, while a five-point development programme announced by the state government did not contain anything on education," Fadnavis further said.

He called the Budget announcement "old wine in a new bottle," saying that farmers were being compelled to seek financial assistance from money-lenders despite claims by the state administration that agricultural debts would be waived.

"If Mumbai is getting 130 per cent rise in funds, it is just 5 per cent for Osmanabad district. Why this difference? The departments headed by NCP have got 57 per cent, those under the Congress 26 per cent and Shiv Sena 16 per cent," the former CM  was quoted by PTI in its report.

Fadnavis also attacked the government on disconnection of electricity supply to farm plots, malpractices in setting up of COVID-19 facilities, lack of relief to those affected by cyclones Nisarg and Tauktae.

(With PTI Inputs)