The NCP leader claimed that former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had links with the underworld and swept under the carpet a case of seized fake notes
NCP leader Nawab Malik. ANI
“Those who claimed hydrogen bombs could not even burst sparklers.”
BJP’s Ashish Shelar was quick to fire out after Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik dropped an alleged ‘hydrogen bomb‘.
For those who don’t understand what’s going on, here’s a recap of events that led to today’s barbs between the BJP and NCP.
Maharashtra minister and NCP senior leader Nawab Malik held a press conference early today in which he claimed that the former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had “connections with underworld members” and that he had protected those behind a fake currency note racket unearthed by Sameer Wankhede.
In his press conference, Malik said: “With the blessings of Fadnavis, the game of counterfeit notes started in Maharashtra. After demonetisation was declared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and counterfeit notes were being caught across the country but till 8 October 2017, no case was registered in as the game of counterfeit notes was going on under Devendra Fadnavis.”
The NCP leader also questioned the appointments done during Fadnavis’ tenure.
“Nagpur’s notorious criminal Munna Yadav was appointed chairman of the Construction Workers’ Board by Devendra Fadnavis during his government. One Haidar Azam, involved in illegal immigration of Bangladesh, was appointed chairman of Maulana Azad Finance Corporation by Fadnavis,” said Malik.
The minister also added that it was owing to the friendship between Sameer Wankhede and Fadnavis that criminal activities flourished in Mumbai and Maharashtra in the BJP’s rule.
He also slammed Fadnavis for his ties with Riyaz Bhati, an alleged aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim. “Riyaz Bhati was caught with two passports. Why was he seen with you at your programmes? How did Riyaz Bhati reach the Prime Minister when he came here? Devendraji… you used Riyaz for your work. All these things happened with your blessing,” Malik alleged.
Shortly after his press conference, BJP’s Ashish Shelar mocked Malik saying his ‘expose’ had backfired.
“Those who spoke of dropping a hydrogen bomb couldn’t even burst a small cracker. On the contrary, they burnt their own hands. Forget a hydrogen bomb their condition now is such that they will need oxygen,” Shelar said.
He has made bogus allegations against Devendra Fadnavis and all of them are baseless. By dropping names and making claims of an international racket, calls from abroad and extortion, he tried to create a false narrative, but his attempts have failed,” Shelar was quoted as saying by Times of India.
Shelar in his response also showed photos of Riyaz Bhati with Congress and NCP leaders like Prithviraj Chavan, Ajit Pawar and even Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
“Yes, Munna Yadav, Haji Arafat and Haider Azam are party workers (but) there is not a single case against Arafat and Azam. They were included only after checking. None of this happened during Fadnavis’ time,” he claimed.
Devendra Fadnavis also responded to Malik’s allegations with a simple quote by George Bernard Shaw, saying: “I learned long ago never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.”
Malik has since last month levelled a series of allegations against Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede after he led a raid on a cruise ship, following which actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and some others were arrested.
The NCP leader’s son-in-law Sameer Khan was also arrested by the NCB earlier this year in an alleged drugs case and was later granted bail by a court.
On 1 November, Fadnavis had said Malik’s attack on the NCB was an attempt to put pressure on officials of the anti-drugs agency so that the case against his son-in-law is weakened.
With inputs from agencies