Irrigation ‘scam’: Ajit Pawar will be arrested soon, says Maharashtra BJP chief
Pawar is being probed by the Anti-Corruption Department in connection with the alleged multi-crore scam.
State BJP chief Raosaheb Danve (Express photo by Prashant Nadkar)
BJP state president Raosaheb Danve on Saturday caused quite a stir at a party rally in Pimpri-Chinchwad when he said senior NCP leader and former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar was going to be arrested “anytime now” in connection with an alleged irrigation scam during the Congress-NCP rule.
In the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Danve, during his speech at the ‘Atal Sankalp Mahasammelan’, said, “I want to tell you that Ajit Pawar will be arrested anytime now…police personnel are outside his residence, waiting to arrest him”. He did not elaborate further.
Pawar is being probed by the state Anti-Corruption Department in connection with the alleged multi-crore scam.
At the rally, held to launch the BJP’s Lok Sabha election campaign in the state, Fadnavis did not say anything about whether Pawar was going to be arrested. But he did accuse the erstwhile Congress-NCP government of looting public money through the irrigation “scam”. “They committed the scam and looted public money. But our government has gone all out to ensure justice for farmers and the people,” he said.
The chief minister claimed that during the NCP-Congress regime, farmers were left high and dry by leaders who filled their coffers. But, he said, the BJP government has uplifted the lives of hundreds of farmers through its Jalyukt Shivar programme. “The Jalyukt Shivar programme has ensured that even if there is less rain, the farmers will not suffer. This is because the Jalyukt Shivar programme helps in conservation of water and its availability all the time,” said Fadnavis.
The chief minister also listed the measures his government has taken for farmers’ welfare, saying, “During Congress-NCP’s 15-year rule, they waived a farmer loan to the tune of Rs 8,000 crore while the BJP, in only four years, has waived loans to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore”.
Fadnavis also accused the Congress-NCP government of “splurging public money by awarding tenders much above their estimated rate”. “Their government allotted tenders at 30-40 per cent above the estimated rate. However, we have allotted tenders worth Rs 9,000 crore, much below the estimated rates. As much as 62 per cent tenders are below the estimated rate, 25 per cent are on par with the estimated rate while the rest have been allotted just one per cent above the estimated rate,” he said.
Without naming the Shiv Sena, Fadnavis said the rally was not held at the Maval Lok Sabha constituency because the alliance has “snapped”. “This rally has been organised to ensure that only those who support Prime Minister Narendra Modi are elected as MPs. Even if those from friendly parties support the Prime Minister, then we will send their MPs to Delhi from these two constituencies. Otherwise, BJP will ensure that its MPs are elected from here,” he said.
Meanwhile, NCP state spokesperson Nawab Malik dismissed Danve’s statement. “They (BJP) has been saying the same thing when they were in opposition and even now, when they are ruling the state. If they have the guts, they should take action…they should not keep making such empty threats,” he said. Incidentally, Pawar was also in Pimpri-Chinchwad on Saturday, when he held a press conference and attacked the BJP-ruled Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. He said the civic body has failed to live up to people’s expectations.
The rally was attended by party MPs and MLAs from Maval and Shrirur constituencies, as well as from Pune city, including BJP MLAs Laxman Jagtap, Mahesh Landge, Baburao Pacharne, Yogesh Tilekar and Prashant Thakur, Pimpri-Chinchwad Mayor Rahul Jadhav, Pune Mayor Mukta Tilak, PCMC House leader Eknath Pawar and BJP MP Amar Sable, among others.
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