Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh resigned from the State cabinet on Monday after the Bombay High Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct preliminary investigation into allegations of extrotion levelled against him by former Mumbai CP Param Bir Singh.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray accepted his resignation and informed Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari that senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Dilip Walse-Patil, who was handling Excise and Labour departments, has now been given the charge of the Home portfolio.
Both Mr. Deshmukh and the Maharashtra government have said they will approach the Supreme Court against the High Court order.
In his resignation letter, Mr. Deshmukh said, “Bombay High Court in a petition filed by Adv Jayashri Patil has directed the CBI to conduct preliminary investigation As a result, it is not morally correct for me to continue as State's Home Minister. I have therefore decided to resign,” he said.
Also read: Bombay HC directs CBI to conduct preliminary inquiry into letter against Anil Deshmukh
Mr Param Bir Singh had written a letter to the Chief Minister last month, after being transferred out as Mumbai Commissioner of Police, alleging that Mr Deshmukh had told suspended Mumbai cop Sachin Waze to collect ₹100 crore in extortion money from hoteliers in the city. Mr Waze is currently in National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody for his involvement in the case of explosives being found near the house of industrialist Mukesh Ambani.
After submitting his resignation, Mr Deshmukh flew immediately to Delhi later in the evening itself ahead of approaching the Supreme Court.
Also read: Pleas seek central agency probe into Param Bir’s allegations against Anil Deshmukh
“After the court verdict, Anil Deshmukh met NCP president Sharad Pawar and expressed his desire to resign on moral grounds. Pawar accepted and after that a resignation letter was sent to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray,” said NCP chief spokesperson and Minority Affairs minister Nawab Malik.
Mr. Walse-Patil was handling Labour and Excise departments in this government, the additional charge of these two departments will be given to Rural Development Minister Hasan Mushrif and Finance minister Ajit Pawar, respectively.
The new Home Minister, Mr. Walse-Patil, one the senior-most NCP leaders, is a staunch loyalist of Sharad Pawar. An MLA from Ambegaon assembly constituency in Pune district, he has held the Finance, Power and Higher Education portfolios in the past. He was the Assembly Speaker from 2009 to 2014.
It was rumoured during the formation of the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government that he was Mr. Pawar’s first choice for the Home Department but he had then declined the offer.
Earlier, opposition BJP criticised the State government, questioning the silence of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray despite the order from Bombay High Court. Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said the resignation of Mr Deshmukh was expected as he had no other option.
“Why is the Chief Minister silent? That is unsettling,” he claimed.
Mr Fadnavis termed the coalition government as an auto-rickshaw government and said all three parties considered the government as their fiefdoms.
