'Was Asked To Frame Uddhav, Aaditya Thackeray': Anil Deshmukh's Big Claim Against Devendra Fadnavis

Fadnavis had denied the allegations, calling them baseless. The BJP leader claimed to have multiple clips of the remarks of Deshmukh against Thackeray and Sharad Pawar.

File photo of Former Maharashtra Home Minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh.

Source : PTI

Former Maharashtra home minister and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday made a major allegation against Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis claiming that the BJP leader pressured him into signing false affidavits against former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray, Ajit Pawar to avoid ED or CBI probe.

“Three years ago, Devendra Fadnavis sent a man to me and asked me to write four affidavits. I was asked to make written allegations against Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray, Ajit Pawar and Anil Parab. Devendra Fadnavis sent the affidavits and asked me to sign them. I was told that if I did this, then neither ED nor CBI would come after me,” the NCP leader said, according to ANI.

Nagpur, Maharashtra | NCP-SCP leader Anil Deshmukh yesterday said, "Three years ago Devendra Fadnavis sent a man to me and asked me to write four affidavits. I was asked to make written allegations against Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray, Ajit Pawar and Anil Parab. Devendra… pic.twitter.com/FIwWW8GAmF

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2024

Deshmukh further added that he was pressured to file a false affidavit against Aaditya Thackeray, accusing him of raping Disha Salian and throwing her from a balcony.

“I was pressurised but I clearly said that even if I have to go to jail for life, I will not make false allegations. I did not bow down and that is why ED and CBI were sent after me. I was asked to give a false affidavit that Aaditya Thackeray raped Disha Salian and threw her from the balcony,” he added.

Deshmukh also dared Fadnavis to make public the video clips against him purportedly showing him speaking against Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray.

Addressing a press conference in Nagpur, Deshmukh said, "Fadnavis should make the video clips public because I know he possesses none." 

Deshmukh was referring to the events in April 2021 when he had to resign as the Maharashtra Home Minister following allegations of extortion and was later arrested in connection with corruption and money laundering cases.

He spent over a year in judicial custody before getting bail in December 2022.

Fadnavis Calls It Baseless

Devendra Fadnavis has denied the allegations, calling them baseless. The BJP leader claimed to have multiple clips of the remarks of Deshmukh against Thackeray and Sharad Pawar.

“The High Court had ordered an FIR to be registered against Anil Deshmukh… He should know that I have multiple pieces of audiovisual evidence of his comments about then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar. If false accusations are levelled against me, I will have no choice but to make this evidence public,” Fadnavis has said.

If I show those evidences against Anil Deshmukh, then...
अनिल देशमुख यांच्याबद्दल मी ते पुरावे जर सादर केले तर...
यदि मैं अनिल देशमुख के बारें में वो सबूत पेश करूँ तो...

(माध्यमांशी संवाद | विधान भवन, मुंबई | 24-7-2024)#Maharashtra #Mumbai pic.twitter.com/sqFDuaGwha

— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) July 24, 2024

Deshmukh had stepped down as Maharashtra home minister in April 2021 after the then Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh accused the NCP leader of asking police to collect money from hotel and bar owners in the city.

He was arrested by the ED in a money laundering case in November 2021 and by the CBI in a corruption case in April 2022. He was also in judicial custody for over a year before being granted bail by the Bombay High Court.