Sharad Pawar defends Maharashtra home minister, Parambir Singh moves SC

The Nationalist Congress Party NCP boss Sharad Pawar fortified the defence of Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Monday saying he need not resign because the allegations made by Mumbairsquos former police chief Param Bir Singh are unfounded false and motivated The IPS officer on the other hand moved the Supreme Court seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI and the cancellation of his transferSharad Pawar in Delhi on Monday PicPTIOn the same day the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP raked up the controversy in Parliament and demanded Presidentrsquos Rule in Maharashtra Pawar said in New Delhi that Deshmukh could not have been available to meet arrested and suspended police officer Sachin Waze in February mdash as claimed by Singh mdash as was in the hospital and home isolation in Nagpur due to COVID However it was brought to Pawarrsquos notice that Deshmukh addressed a media conference on February 15 in violation of COVID normsThe BJP IT Cellrsquos chief retweeted Deshmukhrsquos February 15 tweet where he was seen talking to the media with a posse of security personal around him Pawar said his information on Deshmukhrsquos unavailability was based on hospital documents he was given Deshmukh clarified that he had addressed the media before leaving the hospital for homeldquoAnil Deshmukh was in the hospital from February 5 to 15 and from February 15 to 27 he was in home isolation in Nagpur We will share these records with the Chief Minister of Maharashtra The question of Deshmukhrsquos resignation does not arise nowrdquo said Pawar The NCP was expected to take a similar stand in the Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA coordination committeersquos meeting later in the dayHowever Pawar reiterated that CM Uddhav Thackeray would decide on initiating an enquiry if it is needed ldquoWith the documents provided to me I say the allegations are falserdquo he said adding that the MVA government would not get affected by any such controversy Ball in CMrsquos courtA senior Congress leader said ldquoWith Pawar fortifying the defence the ball is in the CMrsquos court The MVA will try to resolve the matter in a way that does not give BJP political mileage There are two options Ask Deshmukh to quit or divest him of the Home Department in a cabinet reshufflerdquo he saidInterestingly Congressrsquo Maharashtra incharge HK Patil issued a statement from Delhi on Monday ldquoWe will discuss the resignation as well Whatever alternative comes will see sic Even resignation is one alternativerdquo the statement saidPresidentrsquos Rule demandClaiming that there is a deterioration of law and order and corruption BJP MPs demanded a Presidentrsquos Rule In the Rajya Sabha they demanded the sacking of the Maharashtra government Union Minister Prakash Javadekar tried to raise the issue but was not allowed The House was then adjourned till 2 pm amid the chaosIn the Lok Sabha BJPrsquos Mumbai Northeast MP Manoj Kotak spoke about the 100 crore extortion allegations ldquoIf it is 100 crore in Mumbai alone how much money came from other places in Maharashtrardquo he saidIn the evening Opposition leader in the statersquos Upper house Praveen Darekar met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari apparently to seek his intervention BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar had said earlier in the day that the Governor should send the Centre a report on the current state of affairsSenarsquos RatnagiriSindhudurg MP Vinayak Raut countered the BJP saying the BJP was trying to destabilise the government He quoted from a letter a police inspector has written against Singh Sena MPs walked out claiming that they were denied adequate time to respondNCPrsquos Supriya Sule said ldquoThe Zero Hour was rigged The eight BJP MPs were allowed to speak even though they were not listed Itrsquos a black day for the House and it shouldnrsquot set a precedentrdquoSenarsquos Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut warned the BJP against trying to impose the Presidentrsquos Rule ldquoIf someone is attempting to impose Presidentrsquos Rule in Maharashtra by misusing central agencies then I am warning them mdash you yourself will get burnt in that firerdquo he said