AAP throws muck at Ashish Shelar

After BJP ministers across the state, last casualty being Eknath Khadse for his irregular land deal with MIDC, it is now the turn of the city BJP chief. The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday trained its guns on MLA Ashish Shelar, leveling charges of corruption against him.

AAP's Preeti Menon at yesterday's press conference; (right) BJP city chief Ashish Shelar. Pic/Suresh Karkera

Leading the charge was AAP city leader Preeti Sharma Menon, who accused him of hiding information from the Election Commission and of ongoing "shady dealings" in one of the companies he was a director in. Within hours,
Shelar had responded with his own press conference at the Nariman Point BJP office, refuting all the charges and threatening to sue her for defamation.

‘Benami companies'
On Wednesday, in a press conference, Menon alleged that Shelar was involved in benami companies and conducted shady dealings during his tenure there. According to Shelar's election affidavit, he served as director of a company called Sarveshwar Logistics Services. The summary balance sheets show that between 2010-2014, the company never had a turnover of more than Rs 10,000- Rs 15,000, but managed to get crores in loans. As of March, Sarveshwar has property worth Rs 18.5 crore. Shelar claims that he has only invested Rs 25 lakhs in these companies. But he has extended share application money worth Rs 3.6 crore. If his income allows that, it is not reflected in his income certificate before the ED."

She added, "Besides, the company took a Rs 20-lakh loan from a company called Riddhi Dealmark. However, despite being a director there, Shelar did not declare his involvement to the Election Commission. The firm also has dealings with Gautam Resources, a company that has been striked off," Menon alleged. Additionally, AAP has claimed that Shelar is involved in Alhad Properties and Opera Realtors.

Shelar's rebuttal
Just hours after Menon's claims, Shelar attempted to counter the allegations and said that he was going to sue Menon for defamation.

"I have declared my combined share holdings to the Election Commission as per rules. It is not necessary to mention which company the shares were in," Shelar said. Alongside, he produced a copy of his resignation from the company, submitted in May this year, clarifying that is no longer a director.

Shelar further claimed that both Alhad and Opera are now defunct. He even stated that he had nothing to do with Alhad as it was his PA Prakash Patil who was involved with it.

Expressing regret that his public life had led to his businesses being dragged into public, Shelar declared that this discourages ‘young entrepreneurs' from doing business, adding he is being repeatedly targeted by "some entities". He has written to the CM to investigate them.