The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the State has landed in a controversy twice over the past three days for reasons related to departments led by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ministers.
Three days ago, NCP leader and Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad, stirred a storm after a member of extreme right-wing organisation Shri Shivpratishthan alleged that he was beaten up at the minister’s residence in his presence.
It led to a demand by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders of Opposition in both Houses — Devendra Fadnavis and Pravin Darekar — demanding Mr. Awhad be sacked. Former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya attempted to meet the man who alleged he was beaten up, but was stopped by police and detained.
While Mr. Awhad denied the allegations, five of his workers have been arrested so far by Thane police. Although senior party leaders have refrained from criticising him in public, they have expressed displeasure and questioned the reason behind allegations against him.
In a separate incident, granting a special concession to the Wadhawan family, accused in the Yes Bank case, to travel from Khandala to Mahabaleshwar during the lockdown has landed another NCP leader, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, in trouble.
The incident took place exactly a day after Mr. Deshmukh issued a statement questioning the Union Home Ministry and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s conduct in the Tablighi Jamaat incident in Delhi. “It impacts not just one party but the entire government during the time of a crisis like this. The narrative changes in an instant and despite the good work by the State administrations, the Opposition gets an excuse to target it,” said a senior minister from the NCP.
According to sources, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was particularly keen on taking action in the Wadhawan case. “Though he hasn’t yet spoken about this with the NCP chief, both of them may talk to cool things off and advise ministers to be more careful and not damage the government’s image,” a source said.
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