‘Criminals belong in jail, not civic body’: CM Devendra Fadnavis slams Ajit Pawar for fielding ‘tainted’ candidates in polls

Fadnavis was ostensibly referring to a speech made by Ajit in Pune last month, wherein he had asked Police Commissioner Amitesh Gupta to end the menace of the ‘koyta’ gang while warning that the police would face action otherwise.

“The Home Minister in me is wondering what is happening in this election? On one side, it is said that crime must end and then criminals are fielded… On top of this, it is claimed that they are being fielded by alliance partners… All this is meaningless…,” the chief minister said.

Fadnavis added that if criminals get elected, they will not be in the civic body. “They will be in jail,” he said.

Responding to the remarks, NCP(SP) working president Supriya Sule said, “I was expecting the Chief Minister would be able to stop crime in Maharashtra and Pune. Why is crime not stopping in Pune? Why is the ‘koyta’ gang on the prowl? Since their government came to power, crime in Maharashtra has been on the rise. This is not my data. This data belongs to the central government.”

‘Promises should be believable’

Asked whether it would be possible to provide free Metro service to Pune residents, Fadnavis said, “Today, I thought of making an announcement that women travelling in all flights operating from Pune should be given free tickets… It is not a big deal making such promises, but promises should be believable… When a party knows it is losing, its leaders then resort to making such promises out of desperation.” The interview was conducted by popular Marathi actress Girija Oak Godbole.

Referring to the verbal war between BJP and NCP leaders, especially between Ajit Pawar and leaders like Murlidhar Mohol and Mahesh Landge, Fadnavis said, “Both the alliance partners should follow the coalition dharma at the state level. We had decided that alliance partners will not speak against each other during the civic elections, especially where friendly fights are scheduled. I showed patience, but Ajit Pawar did not… He will not speak in this manner after January 15.”

Later on Sunday, Ajit responded by saying that he was only pointing at the mistakes committed by the BJP during its rule in Pimpri-Chinchwad. “I am pointing out the mistakes committed by the BJP. I am not criticising the party,” he said.

Elections to 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra are slated to be held on January 15, Thursday. The results will be announced the following day.