MUMBAI: Alarmed by the damage caused to the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s image by allegations of corruption, senior MVA leaders had a meeting with CM Uddhav Thackeray and deputy CM Ajit Pawar following Wednesday’s cabinet meet for drafting a strategy to take on the BJP.
The strategy that has emerged is to initiate action against BJP’s cabinet ministers from the erstwhile state government led by Devendra Fadnavis, a senior minister told TOI.
“We met after the weekly cabinet meeting. The general view was that a section of BJP leaders was making baseless allegations against cabinet members, and the MVA had been unable to give a fitting reply. As a result, the image of the MVA government has been adversely affected. Thackeray and Pawar have granted the green signal to initiate action against former BJP cabinet members. The responsibility of drafting the strategy has been entrusted to three cabinet members,” the minister said.
The minister said the strategy team will have one member each from Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress. “The team has swung into action, and results will be visible in a day or two. In the past too, attempts were made to expose BJP’s ex-cabinet members, but in the absence of approval from the political leadership, no decision was taken,” the minister said.
BJP leaders have made corruption charges against transport minister Anil Parab, rural development minister Hasan Mushrif and former home minister Anil Deshmukh.
Elaborating on the strategy, the minister said the Anti-Corruption Bureau has already launched a probe into Fadnavis’s dream project, the Jalyukta Shivar scheme, while a committee has been set up to probe the then forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar’s massive tree plantation programme. In addition, the minister alleged several irregularities had been found in the employment guarantee scheme and in the medical education department earlier led by BJP leader Girish Mahajan. “The probe against two BJP leaders is in its final stages, and we are sure law-enforcing agencies will soon initiate criminal proceedings,” the minister said, adding major projects have been identified for investigation.
