New Delhi: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, while addressing a meeting of NCP workers in Nagpur, said that BJP will have to pay for what they have done to former Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh. “You (BJP) put Anil Deshmukh in jail, you'll pay the price for whatever you did to him,” Pawar said.
The political tug of war in Maharashtra has intensified after Deshmukh was sent in 14-day judicial custody regarding a money laundering case.
“The cost of imprisoning Deshmukh will not remain the same until it is recovered sooner or later. He wants to run the state kindly. To use power with dignity. When the power came, the feet were kept on the ground. But this happens when power is lost from the hands of those whose feet do not stay on the ground and power goes to their heads,” Pawar tweeted on Wednesday.
Deshmukh was arrested earlier this month in the purview of allegations of taking bribes of Rs 4.70 crore were leveled by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed the case against Deshmukh in April this year. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him on November 1 after hours of questioning.
After the arrest, the Maharashtra government sought the constitution of a special investigation team (SIT) to conduct a fair probe. The Maharashtra government has said that “the CBI is heavily compromised and the citizens of the country deserve a free and fair probe into the case,” reported India Today.
According to the same India Today report, the CBI has opposed the constitution of SIT saying that it is an attempt by the state to derail the investigation. “Maharashtra is persistently and rather shamelessly continuing with its endeavour to frustrate [the ongoing probe] and to ensure investigation doesn't take place.” Additional Solicitor General, Aman Lekhi, appearing for CBI said in the court.