If Fadnavis has courage, he must present facts in Anil Deshmukh case: Nana Patole

Nana Patole also criticised the government over the law-and-order situation in Maharashtra. File pic

Amid a series of accusations and counter-accusations between former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and current Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Nana Patole has challenged Fadnavis to state the facts, stated a press release. "If he has courage, he should clear the confusion by bringing the truth before the people," said Patole.

Speaking to reporters at Tilak Bhavan on Monday, Patole said that Deshmukh has accused Fadnavis of pressuring him into signing a false affidavit against former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his son and former tourism minister Aaditya, as well as current Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.

"Deshmukh said this after he came out on bail from jail. Fadnavis has been the home minister for seven-and-a-half years and thus has a vast experience in this department. He claims that he has some video and audio clips. Why did Fadnavis remain silent until Deshmukh made the allegation? If Deshmukh is lying, why was no action taken against him? When Fadnavis was in the government [till 2019], he was tapping the phones of Opposition leaders. The officer who tapped the phones has been promoted to the post of Director General of Police. Therefore, Fadnavis should present the facts instead of threatening the Opposition in the run-up to the elections," the Congress leader said.

In response to a question asked by the media, Patole said that many legislators of the ruling party have been given police security even when they did not need it. He added that Samit Kadam, who Deshmukh accused as the person close to Fadnavis who pressured him into signing the affidavit, is a middleman.

"Samit Kadam is a middleman between the government and businessmen. So he has been given Y security, which is a loot of public money. The state is facing law-and-order problems as murders, robberies, and rapes have increased. But the home ministry and the government are not paying attention to it," he added, citing the case of a young woman who was brutally murdered in Uran.

"The incident is very serious. Women are unsafe in the state. If women are not safe in Mumbai and its surrounding areas, think what will be the situation in the other parts of the state. More than 15,000 girls and women are missing from Maharashtra. Criminals are in power and they have nothing to fear," said Patole, adding that the accused in the Uran case should be severely punished.

He also slammed the current government and said that the change of power that took place in the state two years ago did not suit the culture of Maharashtra.

"Ajit Pawar said that he visited Delhi in disguise 10 times. The implication is that the Bharatiya Janata Party can do anything for power. This government is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has sent a notice to the MLAs of the Ajit Pawar group and the NCP and Shiv Sena case may be heard on September 3," said Patole, adding that there is a sword of disqualification hanging on the legislators of both these parties.