Decode Politics: A watered-down Maharashtra irrigation ‘scam’ resurfaces, just in time for polls

What is the alleged scam about?

Between 2009 and 2014, Ajit Pawar was the Irrigation as well as Water Resources Minister in a Congress-NCP government for some time. He also served as the chairman of the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation. In 2012, an Economic Survey report said that Maharashtra’s irrigation potential had increased by only 0.1% in 10 years though Rs 70,000 crore had been spent on various irrigation schemes during this time.

A retired chief engineer of the Water Resources Department, Vijay Pandhare, and other activists accused Pawar of approving 38 projects without clearance from the Governing Council of the Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation.

After the charges were made, Pawar stepped down as Deputy CM. Three months later though, he was reinstated.

Why is what Pawar has said now significant?

With the irrigation scam allegations a festering issue, in September 2014, the NCP withdrew support to the then Congress-led Maharashtra government. It cited failure to reach a seat-sharing agreement for the coming Assembly polls as the reason.

At the recent Tasgaon rally, Pawar said that after the BJP won in the 2014 Assembly elections, Devendra Fadnavis, who took over as CM, showed him a file signed by Patil which recommended the open inquiry against him in the case.

No sooner had Pawar put Patil on the mat than Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, who was the CM when the NCP withdrew support, said he had been vindicated. ”I never ordered an open inquiry against Ajit Pawar. The file signed by R R Patil ordering an open inquiry never reached me. Unfortunately, the NCP and Ajit Pawar held me responsible and brought down the government,” he said.

Chavan added that it was good that Pawar had himself clarified the matter. ”I had only demanded a White Paper on the issue due to the Economic Survey report,” he said.

Where does the BJP stand on this?

All through the 2014 and 2019 Assembly elections, and much after, the BJP targeted Ajit Pawar over the alleged scam, threatening to send him to jail. In fact, Fadnavis was at the forefront of these warnings of prison time, with videos of him saying this to Marathi news channels going viral.

But, after Ajit Pawar first staged a rebellion against the Sharad Pawar-led NCP in 2019, and joined hands with Fadnavis to form a BJP-NCP government that lasted only four days, the BJP’s tone has changed.

The party has stopped targeting Pawar, and did not do so even when he went back to the NCP and became Deputy CM in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government for two-and-a-half years. The BJP’s main target then became Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, the CM of the MVA government, with its silence on Ajit Pawar inviting much speculation.

What is the status of the alleged irrigation scam?

In December 2019, soon after the MVA government including Ajit Pawar came to power, the Anti-Corruption Bureau gave a clean chit to the NCP leader in the alleged scam. In an affidavit submitted to the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, the Bureau ruled out Pawar’s involvement in alleged irregularities in irrigation projects.

While the MVA government fell after splits first in the Shiv Sena and then the NCP, Ajit Pawar did just fine, with the case falling by the wayside as he switched from being a Deputy CM in the MVA to being a Deputy CM in the Mahayuti.

What has the MVA said on Ajit Pawar’s latest statements?

On Wednesday, Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut said both Fadnavis and Pawar should be booked for breach of the oath of confidentiality. “Ajit Pawar has said Fadnavis showed him an official file signed by R R Patil. By doing so, Fadnavis broke the oath of confidentiality. How can these issues be discussed in public? The Governor should order registration of a case against Fadnavis and Pawar,” Raut said.

As for Patil, he passed away in February 2015. The six-term MLA from Tasgaon in Sangli district who also served as Deputy CM was known for his clean image and for his connect with people.