Devendra Fadnavis' pen drive bomb: Maharashtra to probe allegations, says Sharad Pawar

A day after Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis dropped a ‘pen drive bomb’ containing a 125-hour video recording of the conspiracy hatched by the special public prosecutor against BJP leaders in Maharashtra, NCP President Sharad Pawar has said such a recording would not have been possible without the use of powerful Central investigation agency, adding that the allegations made by Fadnavis would be investigated by the state government.

“The state government will look into the matter. The authenticity of the video will be checked,” he said on Wednesday.

Pawar said that Fadnavis had taken this extreme step as his efforts to destabilize the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra had not met with success despite the deployment of Central probe agencies. However, the government would complete its five-year term, he said. “It is commendable that government officials have a recording of 125 hours. This is impossible without Central investigative mechanisms. Ninety raids were carried out against Anil Deshmukh and it is the best example of conducting an inquiry by misusing power,” he observed.

“My name was mentioned indirectly but I have nothing to do with it,” said Pawar.

However, Pawar said it was true that he had asked Fadnavis to look into a serious complaint he had received about one of the latter’s party colleagues at some point in the last six months or a year.

“Later, I was told by him (Fadnavis) that he was looking into my complaint and care would be taken to see that such things did not happen. The issue was over for me then and there. Except this, I am not personally connected with this,” the NCP chief said.

He said Central agencies were also being ‘misused on a large scale’ in the TMC-ruled West Bengal, ‘to discourage’ the BJP’s opponents.

Malik won’t resign

Referring to the BJP’s demand for the resignation of the NCP minister, Nawab Malik, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case, Pawar clarified that Malik would not resign from the cabinet. “The NCP stands firmly behind Nawab Malik and it is disgusting to associate the name of a Muslim activist with Dawood,” he noted.

“He is a leader who has been elected to the state legislature for the past 25-30 years. You never levelled allegations against him then. If there is a Muslim functionary, you link him to (the gangster) Dawood. This is deplorable. The party stands firmly with him,” Pawar said.