Param Bir Singh's letter rocks Lok Sabha; BJP demands resignation of MVA govt

The BJP on Monday demanded resignation of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi MVA government headed by Uddhav Thackeray in the wake of former Mumbai Police Commissioner Parama Bir Singhs claim that the states Home Minister Anil Deshmukh set a Rs 100crore collection target for the police every month and sought a CBI inquiry into the allegationRaising the issue during Zero Hour in Lok Sabha amidst protests by the Shiv Sena and the NCP BJP member Manoj Kotak said that according to Singhs letter to the chief minister the states home minister had asked suspended Assistant Police Inspector API Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore from 1742 bars and restaurants in the metropolis every monthKotak said the letter reflected that those who are in the government were using officials in collecting money but the chief minister so far has not uttered a single word on the issueIt is a serious matter The home minister should resign the Maharashtra government should resign and there should be a CBI inquiry into the whole issue he saidBJP member Rakesh Singh that the issue is so serious that it cant be termed a state subject as it has a national implicationSingh said that the former police commissioners letter showed that the top functionaries of the Shiv SenaNCPCongress government were involved in collecting huge amounts of money through illegal meansThe allegation against the state home minister was made by none other than the former police commissioner What was the compulsion of the chief minister to defend an APIrank official who was in suspension for 16 years in a press conference he askedSingh claimed that a senior politician from the state had changed his stand after telling that it was a serious matter and there should be an inquiry into itWhat is the fear Is there any fear of spilling the beans about those who get cut If Rs 100 crore collected from Mumbai alone what would be the figure for the entire Maharashtra he askedHe demanded that the MVA government should immediately resign and there should be an impartial inquiry into itAnother BJP member Kapil Patil said that it was not for the first that such a letter has been written by a senior police officer and even a DGPrank officer had also written a similar letter in the pastA senior leader had said that it is a serious matter but he changed his tune overnight What is the fear Fear of spilling the beans he askedHowever Shiv Sena member Vinayak Raut strongly defended the MVA government and claimed that the BJP has been hatching a conspiracy to defame the Shiv SenaCongressNCP dispensation for the last 14 months so that a BJP government can be installed in MumbaiThe issue is nothing but part of BJPs big conspiracy he claimedRaut also accused the former Mumbai police commissioner who wrote the sensational letter as the most corrupt police officerThe Maharashtra government on March 17 transferred Singh and appointed senior IPS officer Hemant Nagrale as the new commissioner of Mumbai PoliceDays after he was shunted out Singh wrote a letter to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray alleging that the state home minister had asked Sachin Waze currently in custody of the National Investigation Agency NIA and other police officers to collect Rs 100 crore monthly including Rs 50 crore to Rs 60 crore from bars and restaurants in MumbaiDeshmukh had denied these allegationsThe NIA is probing Wazes alleged role in placing an explosivesladen SUV outside industrialist Mukesh Ambanis residence on February 25The SUV was in possession of Thanebased businessman Mansukh Hiran who was found dead at a creek near Mumbai The case related to the death of Hiran was also handed over to the NIAThis 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