Maharashtra Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis has said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government’s rallying around minister Nawab Malik, who was arrested over alleged links to Dawood Ibrahim, shows its “complete surrender” to the fugitive underworld don. “What is really shocking is the MVA's decision to rally around Malik, whose underworld links have been exposed. More appalling is the Shiv Sena’s stand,” the former chief minister said Wednesday. Signalling that the Opposition will adopt an aggressive stand to demand Malik's resignation during the Assembly’s budget session starting Thursday, Fadnavis said, “When a cabinet minister is arrested, it is mandatory for the government to remove him, at least till the trial is over. The charges against Malik are far more serious. His property deal with a 1993 blast convict should be enough to ask for his resignation. Malik could have procured property anywhere [else] if he were so desperate. What was the reason for having monetary transactions with the underworld? This question cannot be wished away.” “It was the same government that asked Anil Deshmukh to resign as home minister after corruption charges were levelled against him. It was the same government that asked Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Rathod to resign over his alleged association with Pooja Chavan, who committed suicide. Why is the MVA so reluctant to seek Malik’s resignation? It shows the MVA has completely surrendered to Dawood Ibrahim,” he further lambasted the government. Malik was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case related to a land deal with Sardar Shahwali Khan, convicted for life over the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai, and Mohammad Salim Patel, who was the driver of Dawood’s sister Haseena Parkar. Malik is alleged to have bought 2.80 acres of land at LBS Marg in Kurla for Rs30 lakh when the market rate was Rs 2,053 per square feet. He allegedly paid Rs15 lakh to Khan and Rs 5 lakh to Patel. The BJP alleges that the land deal was meant to protect blast convicts’ property from being seized by the government. “Now it emerges that Malik’s land deal with the underworld and the blast convict saw exchange of black money used for the blasts. Even after these shocking revelations, the Shiv Sena continues to be in the MVA,” Fadnavis said. Fadnavis warned that the state’s 12 crore people would teach the government a lesson, saying that “the MVA’s arrogance will not last long”. The Opposition leader also said that BJP members would raise in the Assembly farmers issues such as the disconnection of electricity connections over pending bills.
