Strict action will be taken against Sharjeel Usmani: Maharashtra Deputy CM

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said that strict action will be taken against former Aligarh Muslim University student leader Sharjeel Usmani who is accused of hurting religious sentiments with his comments made at Elgar Parishad in Pune in January this yearThere is no reason to back anyone who poses a threat to national security Pawar said adding that all should take sensible positions on crucial issues Pawar made the remarks in the state Legislative CouncilStrict action will be taken against Sharjeel Usmani and those who have committed the crime Nobody will be spared You also should not have two positions on the country and states social security he said without naming any partyThe Maharashtra BJP has been demanding action against UsmaniIn an apparent reference to Republic TV editorin chief Arnab Goswami Pawar said Allegations were levelled against a socalled journalist He was also arrested on the charges of abetting suicide There are allegations of disclosing serious and confidential information regarding the countrys security on WhatsApp This journalist had expressed joy after the countrys soldiers were martyred in the Pulwama terror attackWhen this journalist who had posed threat to the countrys and social security was arrested in connection with some other offence several people opposed his arrest Some of us legislature members even staged hunger strike outside Mantralaya There were less people for hunger strike But such agitations were also staged he addedOpposition parties like the Congress had last month accused Goswami of leaking information related to national security after purported WhatsApp chats between him and former Broadcast Audience Research Council BARC head Partho Dasgupta in connection with the Balakot air strike went viral on social mediaMaharashtra BJP MLA Ram Kadam and three others were detained in November last year for protesting outside Mantralaya the state secretariat without taking permission from authoritiesThe protest outside Mantralaya in south Mumbai was held to denounce Goswamis arrest in a 2018 abetment to suicide case by the Raigad policeThere is no reason to back anyone who poses a threat to national security We all should take sensible positions on such issues This is my clear view and it is the view of our Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA too Pawar addedDuring his address Pawar also said that the MVA government of Shiv Sena NCP and Congress is committed to allround development of Maharashtra and assured that there will be no injustice meted to any of the states regions in allocation of development fundsPawar who handles the finance portfolio said the government did not slash fund allocations for key departments like public health medical education police and food and civil supplies during the COVID19 crisisThe state government took an important decision of reducing stamp duty to give momentum to the states economy and revive the construction sectorThis helped realise the commoners dream of buying homes he addedStating that the threat of COVID19 still persists Pawar urged the people to maintain proper physical distance wear masks and wash hands regularly He asked the opposition parties to cooperate with the government in the fight against coronavirusPawar added that the Centre is yet to give the GST dues of Rs 32000 crore to Maharashtra and expressed hope that it will clear the same immediatelyLeader of the Opposition in Legislative Council Pravin Darekar congratulated the deputy chief minister for giving detailed replies to questions raised by the members of the HouseThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever