Eknath Shinde smoothed ruffled feathers after Devendra Fadnavis's letter on Nawab Malik, says Ajit Pawar

Pic/PTI

Breaking his silence over his colleague Devendra Fadnavis's open letter over Nawab Malik, Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said Chief Minister Eknath Shinde intervened to defuse the issue, reported news agency PTI.

Fadnavis wrote to Pawar earlier this month saying the BJP was opposed to former minister Nawab Malik's inclusion in the NCP faction led by Pawar. Malik, facing ED probe for alleged real estate dealings with gangster Dawood Ibrahim's associates, attended the assembly for the first time during the winter session here after getting bail on medical grounds, reported PTI.

Asked about the letter during a media interaction after the session ended, Pawar said, "I did receive the letter. Chief minister Eknath Shinde intervened and said to me that no one needs to get upset, reported PTI.

"Yeh mera prem patra padhkar, koi naraj na hona," Pawar quipped further, tweaking the words of a famous film song, reported PTI.

Notably, Malik had not made it clear which NCP faction he was siding with, reported PTI.

Meanwhile, speaking about the just concluded session, CM Shinde said he was happy that the Lokayukta bill was passed by both houses of the legislature, reported PTI.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led government on the last day of the state legislature's winter session here, referring to ongoing investigations into alleged scams at the Mumbai civic body during the coronavirus pandemic.

The previous regime of "coffin and khichdi thieves" surrendered its integrity for the sake of tenders, he said while replying to the discussion on the customary 'last week's resolution' moved by the opposition in the state assembly.

While Uddhav Thackeray was chief minister during the pandemic, the then undivided Shiv Sena led by him controlled the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) during much of this period.

"The stories of corruption during COVID-19 surpass the tales from the Arabian Nights, and these tales are now coming out in the ED and CAG investigations," said Shinde, who became chief minister in June 2022 after rebelling against Thackeray and splitting the party.

Citing details of police investigation into the affairs of civic contractor Romin Chheda, Shinde said the BMC gave Chheda's highway construction company 57 contracts worth Rs 270 crore.

(With inputs from PTI)